So do Clubs/irons that non-conform in 2024 go to junk pile and become worthless?

[TheNatural72]

Forgive me if this has been discussed elsewhere. I have a set of irons that are about 16 years old and on the USGA site they are listed as needing more testing to deem if they are legal after 2024 etc.

I personally love my irons and have not found anything I like that compares to them. I was thinking of buying another set because mine are showing a bit of wear and tear.

The clubs are cheaply had now so that is not really a big deal. However after 2024, I would rather not be using non conforming clubs just to be playing by the " rules".

I can probably get a few more years out of my current set, while I look for a newer replacement, but it really sucks that in 2024 a lot of great irons will be deemed " non conforming" to everyone.

I figure once 2024 hits, you can buy the clubs for nothing since they will be against the rule. For that reason, I just wonder if I should use my current set and find something from 2010 or newer to fall in love with.

I can say I pretty much hate all the more modern adjustable stuff with graphics and crap all over everything. I feel like even most players irons are chunky and big these days as well.

Anyhow, it sucks my irons are approaching D day in 4 years.

How do you guys feel about having irons that will soon be going against the ruling? Do any of you have irons you love that you would rather keep playing?

How do you feel about all the clubs that will essentially lose most of it's value?

Im sure the USGA can stretch it out and nobody I guess really know what is gonna happen.

Cheers

[TheNatural72]

I will say I like the look of the Ping i500.

 

[JungleJimbo]

@TheNatural72 : Curious... can you pls share details, re what irons you have?
Re your original 2024 question: I guess the answer IMHO= "it depends"... if not playing competition/betting... then i would prefer to keep my fave irons / other golf equipment, for use during casual games!

[TheNatural72]

Oh I forgot . I have 2004 Taylor Made Rac LT Original version 4-pw True Temper TT lite XL shafts. Iomic Grips 1 degree upright D-2 swing weight

[James the Hogan Fan]

I don't know what to do. Everyone who's been saying "your clubs aren't illegal unless coc is in place" are then wrong, because the clubs are, in fact, illegal.

I bought sets of clubs from pre-2010 last year and had to make sure they conformed when I did so... Just for the spirit of the thing.

It will be interesting to see what happens to the older non-compliant sets

[ChipNRun]

I would suspect some "conditions of competition" aspects to come into play. Some local tournaments could permit them, but you wouldn't score points toward for higher level USGA events.

Drivers and putters are exempt from the 2010 revised USGA groove rules.

If you're interested in using a fairway wood or a hybrid from pre-2010, check out this site here. https://www.usga.org/InfoClubsDB/Search.aspx

You can search to see if your older club by chance meets the new 2010 groove rules. For example, these three models all qualified under the post-2010 groove rules:

Tour Edge XCG fairway woods (2008 introduction)Tour Edge XCG-V hybrids (2008 introduction)Callaway Big Bertha Steelhead fairway woods (1998 introduction)

[JungleJimbo]

@ChipNRun : Thanks for the USGA Link... Same Link= also allows checking for irons/ wedges (not just fairway wood/hybrids)
@TheNatural72 : Seems your Taylormade RAC LT answer = really is “it depends”! (w.r.t. conforming/ non-conforming for 2010 groove rules) ie depends on version1 or version2. Refer same USGA Link (attached screenshot )

[img]https://s3.amazonaws.com/golfwrxforums/uploads/5YLGFME5JRRX/2d3f4653-2a08-4876-b0cd-7e82aade9bad.jpeg[/img]

[iNeedMoreGolf]

If your just weekend hacking i dont think you or anyone else should care. If you play tourneys or leagues i guess ask if they care. Golf is hard enough just stick to what is working.... we are not PGA out here lol. The PGA dont even care this hard... ppl using overly hot drivers.

[RogerinNewZealand]

Become a Kept Man and demand a new shiney set of irons....

[caniac6]

I hate to say it, but irons bought in 2004 won’t have much value in 2024, anyway.

[Myherobobhope]

Unless you are playing in USGA sanctioned competitions, I don't think it really matters... in terms of buying a back up set, I'd just shop for them on occasion and pick up another set if you see a good deal (now or in 2024). Honestly, if irons from 2004 are giving you some sort of competitive leg up, the whole golf industry is a lie (I mean, more than it already is). I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[PowerCobra98]

I've never owned a set of irons for 4 years...let alone 16! Guess I like new and shiny. All part of being a club ho.

[Radeon962]

The irons have minimal value right now let alone in 4 years. Trade in value is $40 and resale on eBay is most likely under $100.

If they had upgraded shafts and grips somebody might buy them to pull the shafts but what was premium back in 2004 is well past thinking about value except to you as they fit you well.

[setter02]

If anything, the whole groove rule BS is illegal and it's a shame heads didn't truly roll for it as with any stupid thing they implement...

[sui generis]

Wait, don't buy that back up set until 2034. The price will be golden by then. Surely you can stretch your current set out until then, though your grips should be changed at least every twenty years and the faces wiped down every five to fifteen years. ?

[farmer]

I'm still peeved about the belly putter debacle. Did anyone ever prove that the old grooves were advantageous?

[gvogel]

I'm still using my belly putter in my league play, because they don't care. I do, I make more 10 - 15' putts with it.

[OrangeGravy]

I think non-conforming grooves is just another excuse in a long line of excuses to buy something new for 99.9% of the golfing public that doesn't ever play in anything requiring or even checking whether grooves are legal. You might get some blow back at some clubs if you win the CC and you have many enemies in the club.

[ThinkingPlus]

If I remember correctly, square grooves provided a good bit more spin whether from the fairway or rough. So a good player got help from the rough to hold a firm green. From the fairway, if that same player wasn't careful, spinning the ball back off the green was always a possibility. I think Norman tried out a Top Flite for awhile trying to keep the spin down. The current conforming grooves aren't as good from the rough, but easier for the pros to control from the fairway. I think they have it easier now, but that's JMO.

[farmer]

Norman used a Tour Edition, which was higher spin than a balata ball. He had trouble with too much spin. The Tour Edition was a Top Flite offshoot.

[ThinkingPlus]

I thought at some point he tried a low spin ball to address the uncontrollable spin problem he was having. Oh, well memory is a fleeting thing.

[braincramp52]

OP, do you play a lot of sanctioned USGA events? If you don't you can play any irons you want.

[MtlJeff]

Outside of high level amateur events, i would be shocked if anyone even remembers the rule in 2024. In anything short of a US amateur it would probably take your playing partner calling a rules official over for anyone to even notice. If all you play is club championships and local small tourneys, you won't need to worry about it

[Zen_Golfer]

I would say that if you arent planning on playing in tournaments and dont really care that they conform, keep playing them. I personally find it kind of silly that u-grooves would be illegal but jacked lofts arent. I mean, whats a bigger advantage: more spin out of the rough or having a club that hits the ball 20-30 yards longer than the irons with u-grooves do?

Ive got a couple sets of vintage irons and I have absolutely no plans to throw them out or stop playing them just because the USGA and R&A says so.

[Nessism]

Technically, those old groove clubs can't be used for rounds that feed into your handicap. I'm hoping the USGA backpedals and allows the clubs to continue in use just like now.

[storm319]

Jacked lofts is pure optical. The USGA does not care about the number stamped on the bottom the club as long as it conforms to their other regulations (nor should they).

Wedge grooves under the current regulation will spin less in certain lies. If there is enough grass/debris in the way, then there won’t be any difference which is why increasing rough length would be far more effective in increasing the penalty for misses (USGA/R&A only control conditions for a few top events which is why they took the approach that they did with the groove regulation change).

[storm319]

I would not hold your breath for the USGA to change course on any past or future equipment rollback once set...

[ChipNRun]

@ThinkingPlus noted: "If I remember correctly, square grooves provided a good bit more spin whether from the fairway or rough. So a good player got help from the rough to hold a firm green."Golf Digest had piece circa 2011 on the spin truth about square-groove wedges. Seems like a golfer needed a driver clubhead speed of 105 MPH to get the extra stopping power out of the rough.
Does anyone have the article link stored (sorry, I don't) and ideally the exact MPH needed to benefit?
Around that time, a Solheim family rep lamented that the "new groove rule" added $5 to the cost of every iron and wedge head Ping made.Spin from fairway? The grooves mainly help channel grass and moisture away from the clubface in the rough. If you go to one of the GolfWorks ClubMaking Academy courses, you'll see the slick face test. The crew has some iron club blanks (no grooves) on shafts, and if you hit the ball squarely off a fairway lie you get some bite, despite no grooves.
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Since we're talking rules, what goes on at your club or golf course? Do any renegade senior golfers still anchor long-shafted putters on the green? If so, does the head pro run out onto No. 18 green and scold them?

[cardia10]

You would think with all of the professional testing and results showing grooves to now be even more effective and predictable, they could change their stance on this issue. The way they flip back and forth on most items, I'm shocked they haven't but I guess when you fight this hard for a change, you stick with it even if proven 100% ineffective. The only positive is that if the USGA keeps up the way they are going, they may fail to exist in the same form by 2024. 99% of golfers don't play sanctioned events or truly care anyway.

[DFS PFD]

Are there very many 14-15+ year old iron sets fetching that are still super valuable that are not collectibles? Seems to me this won't effect resale much, maybe goes from $100 to $90