Does USGA RandA test players clubs?

[JoeyD12]

I guess you can't argue with that kind of logic.

 

I don't mind arguing logic. This is just a stupid topic that is essentially "dead by time". The tour decided to implement testing. They tested 2 drivers within the first year. Then they tested..... wait for it..... none. Why? Because it cannot be done with 100% certainty. That is why they won't test a club that's been hit. They don't retain a 3rd party to control calibration at each event. They haven't tested a driver in 11 years. There is probably nothing they are ever going to put out in public that states that they stopped doing the tests. Why? When do you ever remember them coming out and saying that they were wrong?

 

They received scrutiny for suspicious drivers. They "implemented testing" to satisfy the critics. They then quickly abandoned it as there are entirely way too many variables involved that introduces countless amounts of liability. It is strictly a manufacturing guideline at this point.

 

Now for logic: please provide me with any type of evidence that suggests that "anywhere, anytime" testing is still in place today.

The Tour does not test equipment. The USGA tests equipment. Whether or not the PGA Tour has any equipment isn't the issue and is irrelevant. The USGA does and will test any club that is brought to them to be tested for conformity. Every OEM is well aware that the USGA not only tests the sample clubs provided to them, but also clubs out in the retail market. Whether or not any club has been tested on Tour isn't really a relevant item as every OEM bends over backward to ensure that their players don't use anything that might even remotely be non-conforming.

 

No player is going to jeopardize their career by putting an illegal club into play. That is the reason there likely hasn't been a club tested from a Tour player in years. Not because of misguided conspiracy theory that once a club has been used it can never be tested. The way you are talking, if a player can get a hot club into play no one can do anything about its illegality because it has been used and they can thumb their nose at the Rules.

 

I agree with all of this. Again, they are never going to test a player's equipment from competition. And yes, the way I'm talking is the way it is. There has been plenty of speculation as to whether or not certain players are using hot clubs (mostly drivers) and they know they are never going to get tested after the club has been used. No lawyer could ever substantiate a claim that a player's club was illegal before, during, and after use. It would never hold up in court and would be bad optics for the PGA Tour (not the USGA, players compete on various TOURs). I'll keep harping on this, but there is a reason a gamer club has not been tested in 11 years....

 

I'm really not arguing with you. I suppose it is the right of the PGA Tour to ask the USGA to test clubs that were used in competition, I'm simply saying it does not and will not happen again.

[JoeyD12]

Wasn't there one of those tour pro expose where someone said the tour tests and approves the clubs and that's the end of it.

 

I know in the article it talked about them literally shaving the faces on their drivers 10 minutes after getting the approval.

 

Correct. The limits are manufacturer's guidelines. The various tours are not going to pull clubs out of players' bags that have already been used. They could never prove that the club was illegal prior to use.

[Socrates]

Wasn't there one of those tour pro expose where someone said the tour tests and approves the clubs and that's the end of it.

 

I know in the article it talked about them literally shaving the faces on their drivers 10 minutes after getting the approval.

 

Correct. The limits are manufacturer's guidelines. The various tours are not going to pull clubs out of players' bags that have already been used. They could never prove that the club was illegal prior to use.

You aren't going to find any Tour Professional out there shaving the faces of their drivers. For one they have a hard enough time finding one they really like and then to shorten its lifespan tremendously and run the risk of having it questioned, just isn't something any real professional is going to do. Not to say some schmuck on the Hangers-On Tour, looking to keep a loanshark off his butt, isn't going to do it because he likes his legs.

 

I do know there are companies out there that will shave the face on drivers. They also don't guarantee that they club won't break on you in very short time. The people that drive these kinds of services are likely sketchy at best and trying to win a few buck off their fellow club members. It's ego and nothing more than that.

 

I will say that although it is almost unheard of fellow PGA Tour players calling anyone out on illegal clubs, it does happen. There was great acrimony when Phil started using his old Ping Eye2 wedges a few years ago. So much so that he eventually took them out of the bag because he didn't like it being insinuated that he was a cheater even though they were legal.

 

Where you are going to see the USGA and R&A inspecting clubs or being asked about the legality of clubs is at the events they run. That is where you are going to find players showing up with clubs that may not be legal (although they were legal for recreational play) because of groove issues. More than a few players have been told that their irons or wedges are non-conforming and can not be used (Golf Digest article). This is where the aforementioned Field Test Procedures are put into play.

[JoeyD12]

Wasn't there one of those tour pro expose where someone said the tour tests and approves the clubs and that's the end of it.

 

I know in the article it talked about them literally shaving the faces on their drivers 10 minutes after getting the approval.

 

Correct. The limits are manufacturer's guidelines. The various tours are not going to pull clubs out of players' bags that have already been used. They could never prove that the club was illegal prior to use.

You aren't going to find any Tour Professional out there shaving the faces of their drivers. For one they have a hard enough time finding one they really like and then to shorten its lifespan tremendously and run the risk of having it questioned, just isn't something any real professional is going to do. Not to say some schmuck on the Hangers-On Tour, looking to keep a loanshark off his butt, isn't going to do it because he likes his legs.

 

I do know there are companies out there that will shave the face on drivers. They also don't guarantee that they club won't break on you in very short time. The people that drive these kinds of services are likely sketchy at best and trying to win a few buck off their fellow club members. It's ego and nothing more than that.

 

I will say that although it is almost unheard of fellow PGA Tour players calling anyone out on illegal clubs, it does happen. There was great acrimony when Phil started using his old Ping Eye2 wedges a few years ago. So much so that he eventually took them out of the bag because he didn't like it being insinuated that he was a cheater even though they were legal.

 

Where you are going to see the USGA and R&A inspecting clubs or being asked about the legality of clubs is at the events they run. That is where you are going to find players showing up with clubs that may not be legal (although they were legal for recreational play) because of groove issues. More than a few players have been told that their irons or wedges are non-conforming and can not be used (Golf Digest article). This is where the aforementioned Field Test Procedures are put into play.

 

Agreed.