Are your irons on the USGA Conforming list??

[wjmfour1]

Currently playing a set of Mizuno Grad-MP irons and have been looking for another set of irons to try out to make a move to regular flex shafts.. my search led me to a set of Titleist 704 CB's and after a search of reviews and such on WRX found that these irons are non-conforming to the USGA's new groove rule. I looked up the list and sure enough they aren't on there - neither were my Grad-MP's!! Have any of you verified your irons are on the list or do you even care? I realize that it only really matters if you play in USGA events.. but it seems to me that there is/are going to be a TON of irons out there that are considered non-conforming!

[scruffynick]

I think most older pings that are still on the courses world wide aren't conforming..... But 99.99% really don't care. Doesn't really makes much difference to us really, especially me

[Zen_Golfer]

My modern set does, my vintage set doesnt. I dont really care either.

[SammyShaf]

My irons conform. I picked up some of the oil can vokeys that did not conform over the winter to see if I could tell a difference. I liked the raw finish, but did not see a noticable difference in performance so I went back to my conforming wedges.

[hammergolf]

Im not concerned about guys in bow ties telling me that my irons “don’t conform” to their new rules. They can continue doing the “important” things in golf like creating a new drop rule, changing hazards to penalty areas, and changing all square to tied.

[14max]

I have one set that doesn't conform and three that do. I only play casual rounds (never for money), so I'm not concerned about the rule as it relates to the set that doesn't conform. I like them, I'll play them, and if a person I'm playing with doesn't like it, they can play on their own...

[NRJyzr]

This is something I don't worry about. I think the groove rule change was a poor idea that was poorly executed.

Ironically, though they've not been submitted, I have a few iron sets that would almost certainly conform, as they pre-date square grooves. Ultimately academic as my golf is similar to Brother 14max above, largely recreational, and largely with no money involved.

Edited August 22, 2020 by NRJyzr

[GSDriver]

I don't play in tournaments anymore, so IDC if conforming or not (mine are fairly recent so they happen to be conforming), but some of my older sets are not which won't stop my from playing them from time to time.

[Socrates]

Prior to the USGA fooling around with the groove rule, OEM's usually did not submit irons for approval or testing. As long as there were no glaring Rule violations about design (really hard to screww up), there were no worries. They knew all the parameters and unless they were doing something radical they had nothing to fear. That is why you won't see many vintage irons in the database. That does not mean they don't conform. It just means they were never sent in for testing.

IF they had a Tour player playing an older club after the change, they would send in clubs to make sure the player was okay using them. Which is why you see some stuff and not others. In some cases, if the player was important enough, they would re-do a set that would conform and send them in. Very limited run and there would be a special marking on them to denote their difference from the stock item. For example, Bubba Watson's iron in 2012 were the S59. The stock irons don't conform. His did.

[ChipNRun]

One caution passed along from a veteran clubsmith I know: Some people make their new-groove irons non-conforming by taking them to Joe's Club Repair and having the grooves re-cut. Or, they take an online groove tool and mess with it themselves. Those who do so hope to stretch the life of the irons. But, the re-reamed grooves end up seriously out of conformance.

The most sickening example of this was some Ping Eye2 Beryllium irons (copper) that had regrooved, and had a silverish sheen inside the grooves on the deep copper face. These came up for sale at a local golf sale around Thanksgiving.