"She had bought the wedges and had been told they were conforming."

It took a while, but the rush to make the groove rule applicable to 2010 USGA events without a simple way to test clubs has finally created an unfortunate situation, reports E. Michael Johnson.

Comments

[GolfFan]

Correct decision.

Know the effing rules.

[Chuck]

Indeed, correct decision.

There were multiple levels of real neglect here, mostly focusing on the player and her parents. She could have asked Ping about the wedges. What wedges are, and are not, conforming, especially retail golf equipment, is widely known even among avid recreational golfers.

The USGA has created an environment in which the only situation where this rule would be invoked with catastrophic results is the one seen here -- an amateur player with no reliable connection to a club manufacturer gets "caught" in a final ("secitonal") U.S. Open qualifier. This wouldn't have happened to a big-time collegiate golfer, with connections to a manufacturer, nor to a professional. And it likely would never happen in the Open itself, with lots of staff around and available to assist with any questions. And it assuredly won't happen this year in any of the other USGA championships, where the rule is not in effect. It wouldn't even have happened in the local qualifier level, based on the USGA's flexibility on that issue this year.

This is, quite literally, "the exception that proves the rule."

[Johnv]

The USGA has a website where you can check specific clubs. There are three possible answers- Conforms, Does Not Conform, Additional Testing Required. If you use #2 you are gone, if you use #3, you are at risk. Sounds like she clubs that fell under #3.

At my US Open Local, I offered the players who qualified the opportunity to check their clubs in the datebase. Three of the 6 took me up on that opportunity.