What is the new rules of the groove rule in golf?

Answer 1

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.