|
| A Look Back: Aug. 7 1960: Coming back from five shots down, Arnold Palmer gets in a playoff and beats Jack Fleck and Bill Collins for the Insurance City Open trophy and his 20th PGA Tour win. 1977: Bill Kratzert wins the Canon Greater Hartford Open by three shots over Grier Jones and Larry Nelson. 1983: Hal Sutton bests Jack Nicklaus by one shot in the PGA Championship at Riviera Country Club. 1988: Gary Player wins the U.S. Senior Open at Medinah Country Club. 1994: Fred Couples wins the Buick Open by two shots over Corey Pavin.
|
About
This E-Mail How
to Advertise |
Equipment
The
United States Golf Association and The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of
St. Andrews, Scotland independently determine a rule that sets a uniform,
worldwide standard for 'spring-like' effect in drivers. This rule represents a
modified version of a joint COR proposal announced on May 9. |
Mizuno
introduces MP30 forged irons featuring Mizuno's well-established Grain Flow Forging
technology and a unique half-cavity to provide both playability and maneuverability.
For more...
In
addition to the more than 150 players on the PGA Tour who have had their golf
club shafts aligned using the SST PURE process, increasing numbers of Senior
PGA Tour, Buy.com Tour, LPGA Tour and mini-tour golfers are using the technology.
For more...
Cleveland
Golf introduces the Launcher 400 driver, a larger version of its 330cc brother,
featuring a coefficient of restitution that meets the .830 limit set forth by
the USGA.
For
more...
At the
LPGA's Wendy's Championship for Children, Mi Hyun Kim wore CHAMP ScorpionSpikes
for her fifth career victory.
For
more...
When Rich
Beem won the International last week, it was the fourth time in three weeks that
the winner of a PGA Tour event wore Softspikes' Black Widow cleats.
For
more...
Nike
Golf unveils the Forged Pro Combo Irons at a presentation featuring PGA Tour
professional David Duval and master club maker Tom Stites at Nike's World Headquarters
in Beaverton, Ore.
For
more...
Associations
A second wave of 50 grants totaling nearly $700,000 is awarded from The PGA
of America's Growth of the Game Grant Program.
For
more...
Instruction
The Asian PGA have opens its first Golf Academy at the Palm Resort Golf
and Country Club in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Teaching staff will be led by one of
the region's foremost coaches, Kel Llewellyn.
For
more...
Events
Tommy Bolt, Ben Crenshaw, Marlene Hagge, Tony Jacklin, Bernhard Langer and Harvey
Penick are to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame Nov. 15 at the
World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla.
For
more...
Tournaments
The 65th Senior PGA Championship, the oldest and most prestigious event
in senior golf, will be conducted Memorial Day weekend, May 27-30, 2004, at Valhalla
Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.
For
more...
Technology
Copper Ridge chooses Crescent Systems as its Club Management software provider
on the strength of the product's ease of use, flexibility and enhanced Tee Timer
scheduler.
For
more...
LeagueBoss.com
is a new web site featuring personalized, interactive, secure software products
to track golf leagues, outings, individuals, teams and USGA clubs online. It also
provides access to information such as courses, teams, schedules, players, subs,
scores, handicaps, statistics, performance and games for everyone involved in
the golf event.
For
more...
Karrier
Communications ships its new IntelliGolf version 6.1 golf scorecard software
for Palm handhelds, Microsoft Powered Pocket PCs and Windows-based PCs. The new
version adds performance charting for nine- and 18-hole rounds of golf and additional
wagering games.
For
more...
Briefly
ClubLink Corporation announces results for the second quarter. Operating
revenue (excluding membership fee revenue) increased to $32,279,000 from $31,202,000
in 2001, while earnings per share decreased to 7 cents from 19 cents in 2001,
due mostly to a change in accounting policy for membership fees. ...
Golfweek
announces the Nike Golf Challenge of Champions Tournament Series in Chicago,
Dallas, Hartford, Conn., Los Angeles, Orlando And Bandon, Ore., for club champions
from 2000, 2001 and 2002. Learn more at www.golfweek.com/events.
...
Tidewater Golf Club in Myrtle Beach, S.C., completes its transition
to TifEagle greens and re-opens its course on Aug. 6. ...
Express Real
Estate Auctions will auction a custom Showplace Home on the 10th Hole of River
Downs Golf Community in Carroll County, Md., on Aug. 8. Go to www.expressauction.com
for pictures, virtual tour and additional details or call 888-748-3398. ...
The ASGA Tour plans to conduct an event with celebrities and golf professionals
Nov. 1-3 to benefit Population Services International's YouthAIDS initiative.
Commentary
New COR Decision
a Good One
Blessed turned back into banned Tuesday when the U.S. Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews reversed a previous proposal that was to allow drivers with a high springlike effect to be legal through 2008.
The new proposal limits drivers to .830 coefficient of restitution - very simply, the amount of force with which the ball comes off the club. May 9, the two bodies that govern the rules of equipment decided that .830 was enough for professional golfers but that regular Joes could use clubs with a .860 COR for the next five years.
Club manufacturers interpreted the May 9 proposal as being set in stone, and released new clubs to market that exceeded the .830 measure. In Callaway Golf's ads for the ERC II driver, the club that many associate with springlike effect and the extra distance that a higher COR can bring, the company scratched out the word "banned" and wrote "blessed" instead. Oops.
Apparently, the USGA never intended manufacturers to take their proposal as gospel. And in the months since releasing it, they received a lot of feedback from regular golfers. The new rule would be confusing, as it only lasted for five years before reverting to the lower COR. It would also differentiate between equipment for the pros and equipment for the handicappers.
"During discussions prior to May 9 between the USGA and R&A, we understood that our original joint proposal using a temporary, five-year rule that permitted a 0.860 limit for some levels of play starting Jan. 1 was complicated for golfers, sellers of golf equipment, club professionals, and a large number of manufacturers," said Walter Driver, chairman of the USGA's Implements and Ball Committee. "But this element was considered a reasonable interim step internationally. Thus, it was no surprise when we later received comments critical of this back-and-forth aspect. Indeed, the majority of comments urged the USGA not to change our current 0.830 COR limit."
Now, while the R&A will not test for COR in clubs - except in professional competition - until 2008, the USGA has decided to keep everything at .830.
And some club manufacturers like Callaway, and Taylor Made with its R500 series drivers, will be unable to sell their clubs as legal in the U.S.
"They knew it was a proposal and not final," USGA Excecutive Director David Fay told The Associated Press. "If they marketed clubs based on the proposal of May 9, then they jumped the gun."
For his part, Callaway president Ron Drapeau said he was disappointed but his company would unveil a new driver to pros at this week's Buick Open that conformed to the rules and would be available to consumers after a short testing period.
"I must say that it is very disappointing to me, personally as the CEO of an American company that my best products cannot be used by American golfers for handicap purposes," Drapeau said. "The real loser here is the American golfer who will not benefit from the additional enjoyment of the game these products bring."
Other companies - those that had not yet discussed plans for bringing out high COR clubs - praised the USGA and R&A decision.
"We thank the two ruling bodies for listening during the customary notice and comment period," officials at Cleveland Golf said in a statement. "We feel that we, as an industry, were given the chance to voice our concerns over the new proposal and the USGA and R&A responded fairly and appropriately."
The USGA made a good decision in limiting COR and not fluctuating back and forth during the upcoming decade. Under this decision, the USGA and R&A will be in step by 2008, pros and high-handicappers alike will be governed under the same rules and duffers around the U.S. won't get used to a driver only to have to give it up in five years.
And while the communication process between governing body and industry may have been lacking somewhere, the USGA has in the recent past backed off of proposals after soliciting industry input, notably in the case of limitations on clubhead size early this year. The USGA initially suggested limiting size to 385-cc heads but then relented and made 460-cc heads the upper limit.
Golfers who don't carry a handicap or compete in tournaments are still free to use any kind of equipment they want to better enjoy the game. But for those who strictly play by the rules, the USGA has given us a ruling that we can live with.
|
Reader's
Forum Tiger Woods won't be contending for the Grand Slam next week at Hazeltine, site of the PGA Championship. Would you like to see Woods win a third major in 2002 or, since the Grand Slam isn't on the line, would you prefer to see another player prevail? Who is your favorite for the year's final major? Let us know your opinions by sending your responses to info@gpagolf.com with the subject line RE: PGA Pick. Also include your first initial and last name, along with your email address. |