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The best thing I have read regarding the new V-Groove Rule.

Augster

Rules Nerd
Supporting Member
Mar 9, 2005
1,473
23
V-grooves won't make any difference whatsoever. Pros or otherwise.

Will the pros be able to spin it less from the rough? Yes. Will they play for the lack of spin? Of course.

Please read the USGA studies/findings.

MOST golfers playing don't even play the high-end balls. They will be unaffected. Rough or fairway.

Better players, with the correct swing mechanics to actually put the "correct amount" of spin on a urethane ball, will have to make a slight adjustment from the rough. Fairways stay the same.

Most "good" amatuers I know, 3 handi or less lets say, STILL don't put the correct spin on the ball. i.e. they aren't spinning it like the pros, backing the ball into the cup etc. etc.

I KNOW the groove change won't affect those guys, because they aren't spinning it enough as it is. Myself included. A 95-shooter will see no difference whatsoever.


And that ends my last post on the tired V-groove subject until the pros have a few months with them.
 

Fourputt

Littleton, Colorado
Sep 5, 2006
973
0
So you've played one round with v grooves?

Perhaps then, your round isn't as relevant to the current argument as you may think (with all due respect).

Relevant factors -

What were the clubs with the v grooves?

Did you only hit shots from the fairway?

Did you hit shots from the rough?

Did you use wedges with v grooves from other than the fairway?

How deep was the rough?

Was the rough wet? (eg. from morning dew etc)

What is the condition of your short game?

What was your final score?

I have a set of Titleist AP2 irons (5I - PW). They already conform to the new rule. I've played more than a dozen rounds with them. Most scores are from the low to high 80's, which is the same range as I score with my King Cobras. I've hit them from every type of lie, wet and dry, long and short rough, fairway. The only wedge I have with the new grooves is the PW that came with the set. I really don't see much difference between the AP2's and the Cobras in the shots I play from rough or fairway. I use either Titleist Pro V1x or Bridgestone Tour B-330 balls.

Enough info or would you like to follow me around the course and record your own data? :rolleyes:
 

Unrepentant 60s kid

Active Member
Aug 30, 2012
52
14
The 2010 groove rule change was just another example of the USGA screwing up. Allow cartoonish 460cc drivers which bear no resemblance to traditional golf clubs but by all means, ban box grooves. Brilliant.

I could go on and on. Not using the lateral hazard rule for OB is the biggest. It's wonderful to ride, or even worse walk, back to the tee during a weekend round on a crowded public golf course. Many of these courses outright defy the USGA with local rules to speed up play.

Bullying the R&A into giving up the 1.62" ball never sat well with me, but younger players won't remember that.

From where did the number fourteen come when determining allowed number of clubs? Somebody pulled that one directly out of his ass. With what golf clubs cost today, I love having to decide which ones to leave out of my bag.

I play by the rules but reserve the right to moon the people making them. The recreational player needs a new rival sanctioning body. I think it would be here already if the popularity of the game wasn't in free fall right now.
 

TheTrueReview

"Playing it straight"
Supporting Member
Jan 8, 2009
8,204
6,042
Country
Australia Australia
I don't like any rule change that potentially make the game harder for the majority => people like us.

Weekend hackers are most likely to be hacking out of the rough. Box grooves be my friend. Some older golfers suffer medical conditions causing trembling in their hands - like my father. Not being able to anchor the putter impacts against those.

Given that only 10% of golfers break 100, elite golfers represent a fly spec of those playing. Yet for some reason ruling bodies don't give due regard to the 99% when making rule changes. It's all about the elite golfers.
 
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subsonic

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Oct 21, 2008
3,432
4,342
Everyone knows there are two forms of golf. Tournament Golf and everything else. It is time for two sets of rules. A set for Tournament golf and a set for everyone else.
 

limpalong

Mental Ward Escapee
Supporting Member
Oct 18, 2006
13,821
13,653
I forgot!
Country
United States United States
I wonder why so many are hurt by the new Handicap rule? I mean do people really play that much golf by themselves?
This will be an interesting decision for one guy at our course. This guy is a "rules Nazi". At the annual meeting he always has to talk about USGA rules. He won't play with anyone else at the course because "Nobody follows the Rules of Golf". He always walks and will become highly agitated if a group pushes him and wants to play through. I'm sure he keeps a USGA cap that is honed to the hundredth of a point.
Now, he won't be able to post scores after playing by himself. That will cause him some significant angst. He will either have to give in and begin playing with a group or give up keeping his handicap.
This is going to be a fun one to watch.
 

PaPaD

Geezer, recovering club ho.
Supporting Member
Jan 5, 2015
8,707
10,396
Fredericksburg VA & Hernando FLA
Country
United States United States
This will be an interesting decision for one guy at our course. This guy is a "rules Nazi". At the annual meeting he always has to talk about USGA rules. He won't play with anyone else at the course because "Nobody follows the Rules of Golf". He always walks and will become highly agitated if a group pushes him and wants to play through. I'm sure he keeps a USGA cap that is honed to the hundredth of a point.
Now, he won't be able to post scores after playing by himself. That will cause him some significant angst. He will either have to give in and begin playing with a group or give up keeping his handicap.
This is going to be a fun one to watch.

That guy was at my old CC too! His head has probably exploded by now..............
 

subsonic

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Oct 21, 2008
3,432
4,342
This will be an interesting decision for one guy at our course. This guy is a "rules Nazi". At the annual meeting he always has to talk about USGA rules. He won't play with anyone else at the course because "Nobody follows the Rules of Golf". He always walks and will become highly agitated if a group pushes him and wants to play through. I'm sure he keeps a USGA cap that is honed to the hundredth of a point.
Now, he won't be able to post scores after playing by himself. That will cause him some significant angst. He will either have to give in and begin playing with a group or give up keeping his handicap.
This is going to be a fun one to watch.

Maybe his game cannot handle others? Will be real interesting to see if his handicap increase because he is playing with others. Maybe guys like him are the reason for the rule. Never plays with others and has a built in excuse that they "don't play by the rules". He plays with you in the club tourney and you discover his 7 handicap is more like a 17.
 

xamilo

Right Curving Driver....
Supporting Member
Dec 22, 2007
2,924
301
Maybe his game cannot handle others? Will be real interesting to see if his handicap increase because he is playing with others. Maybe guys like him are the reason for the rule. Never plays with others and has a built in excuse that they "don't play by the rules". He plays with you in the club tourney and you discover his 7 handicap is more like a 17.

I usually play with at least one of these guys who swears on a 9 HCP but curiously "has a bad game" every time you play with him and never breaks 90
 

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