Golf Article Final Draft : Groove Rule

Unlock access to all the studying documents.

View Full Document

Mark Pak

Mrs. L-B

English 101

Golf Article Final Draft

March 31, 2011

2010 Groove Rule

This year the United States Golf Association (USGA) decided to initiate the 2010

Groove Rule. This rule totally redesigns the grooves on the face on anything less than a

ﬁve iron.

This entire topic became an issue when PGA Tour Players started shooting unheard of

scores on

very challenging golf courses; the mindset was grip it and rip it. The newly approved

grooves

must ﬁt certain credentials, and the grooves size is going to be dramatically impacted. The

USGA should certainly revisit this topic because each individual will have to go out and

buy new

golf clubs. It is still a mystery when it comes into effect, and the game does not need to be

any

more difficult than it already is.

Different golf companies use different types of grooves on their wedges. For example,

Cleveland came out with wedge in 2010 called CG15. The CG15 wedge had zip grooves

as well

as laser milled grooves inside. This would make the game of golf much more easier

because you

would be able to produce more spin from the rough and it will not roll out as much on the

greens.

With these deeper groove wedges being developed, tour players are able to shoot very low

numbers, even after a poor tee shot. The USGA does not want deep grooves in wedges

because it

does not show the true talent of a professional golfer. Also with deeper grooves in wedges,

the

trajectory of the ball differs tremendously. In the regular V-shaped grooves, the trajectory

much lower than the deeper U-shaped grooves. Because of this, the U-shaped grooves

have a

benefit to landing the balls softer on the greens. V-shaped grooves would make the golf

balls just

roll through the green, because of the lower trajectory.

The USGA decided to change the grooves on the golf clubs in hopes of creating less spin

on the ball, making it harder to land and stop a shot on the putting surface. In recent years

golf

has morphed from a game of ﬁnesse into a game of strength and natural ability. The people

that

are not hitting it long off the tee are at a huge disadvantage, and the USGA believes that by

making it harder to score from outside the fairway, that it will hopefully even the playing

field by

prioritizing an accurate shot offthe tee box. This may not be a problem for some Touring

Professionals, as they rarely miss a fairway as is. However for the weekend golfer, this