What is the new rules of the groove rule in golf?
From the start of the 2010 season, Golfers on the professional
tours had to have clubs with conforming grooves in their bag. The
rule is simple, the grooves must be v shaped, and not u shaped. U
shaped grooves give a lot more spin, therefore the governing bodies
wanted to put a premium on driving and stop players getting crazy
spin out of thick rough. The new wedges actually spin more than the
old ones from the middle of the fairway, but far less to not at all
from the rough.
The major talking point is, Phil Mickelson and other players
used a wedge with u grooves, this was the Ping eye 2 manufacturer
around 1990. It allows a more lofted club to be used and give the
players more control over the ball. The high lofted 62 and 64
degree wedges are virtually redundant with v grooves as the ball is
unpredictable and can slide up the face. Ping had a law suit with
the USGA, and the Ping eye 2 is passed for play, and so still
conforms to the new rule.
From 2014 high level amateur golfers will have to use v grooves
and from 2024 club golfers will have to use v grooves, although
these dates are subject to change.