Davis Love on Grooves, Spin and the Golf Equipment Pecking Order

Last season's victory at the Children's Miracle Network Classic in Orlando was huge for Davis Love, who has been a professional golfer since 1985. Not only did he earn a check for $828,000, but the win was also the 20th of his career and gave him a lifetime exemption on the PGA Tour.

Before Love was forced to withdraw from this year's event, he spoke to the media about the pending groove rule changes and his equipment needs. You can read a complete transcription of his interview here, but the most interesting highlights are below:

Love on the groove rule changes and whether they will require players to be more skilled.

I believe it's much adieu about nothing score wise, and you know, is it going to change the PGA Tour—no, because Tiger Woods is still going to be really, really good and everybody else is going to be trying to chase him.

You know, everybody has the same equipment. If they said the long hitters have to use this and the short hitters have to use this, then it would be something that would change the way the game is played. But is it going to be an adjustment, yes. 


A lot of guys have started making that. This is my third start with the new, conforming groove, and I only had to change two wedges. But I stole an extra thousand balls out of the Titleist box in the locker room because I'm hitting a lot of wedges today, and I hit a lot of wedges at Turning Stone [in October], and I hit a lot at Las Vegas. Obviously not enough at Vegas because I didn't play good. But I've really been working more on the wedge game, just to get used to them.

But it's the same thing as, you know, Titleist saying, 'All right, here's the new ball that we're going to bring out next year. Maybe you guys want to get an early start with it,' and you start at Vegas with it. 
 And you know, several times I've come out with a new ball or new set of irons and played well because I've spent some time, adjusted to it. It's a new toy.

But anyway, it'll be a change, but it's not like you're going to watch something different next year. It's like watching Talladega with a tiny bit smaller restrictor plate. To us fans it looked like the same race. It was just a little bit slower, but it looked like the same race. 
It's going to look like the same race next year. You just might see one ball roll a little bit farther on a chip and it'll just be because a guy played a different shot.

Stewart Cink Using Postseason Events to Test New Gear

One of the perks of winning the 2009 British Open for Stewart Cink has been a first-ever trip to Bermuda and a chance to compete in the Grand Slam of Golf. While he's assured of leaving the island with a better appreciation for the Dark and Stormy, he'll need to play well to beat Lucas Glover, Angel Cabrera and Y.E. Yang and win the $600,000 first prize.

On the windswept Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, Cink is planning to put Nike's new Victory Red driver into play for the very first time. But that's only the beginning of the changes he's facing. Just like the skies that he Twittered about on Monday afternoon, there are ominous clouds on the horizon for Cink and other PGA Tour players: pending rule changes that limit the volume and sharpness of grooves.

"I want to be ready to go and not have any big surprises with the grooves," he said Monday afternoon from Bermuda. "So I'm going to play a little extra this year just to be familiar with that."

Winning at Turnberry qualified Cink for the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, and he's also going to play the Wendy's Three Tour Challenge in Las Vegas and the Chevron World Challenge (Tiger Woods's event) in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

While the former Georgia Tech All-American isn't crazy about the idea of changing both his irons and his golf ball at the same time, there is no way around it. The grooves in his Nike Forged CCi irons, as well as his wedges, will become non-conforming starting on Jan. 1, 2010.

"The one thing that I learned last week at The Oven [Nike's test facility] is that the golf ball I'm using now [Nike's ONE Tour D] is probably a little too hard to be a realistic option for next year with the new grooves," he said.


A softer ball could cut into driving distance for Cink and other Tour pros, but it should also produce more control around the greens, which will be critical when playing the lower-spin grooves. Within Nike's current ball line, the One Tour ball might be Cink's best choice in 2010.

"I'm okay with the changes," Cink said, "but I don’t know that going this aggressively was necessary because it’s a radical change with the wedges. If you are on the edge of the rough, or if conditions are damp like they are here in Bermuda right now, there are going to be some shots hit that are quite ugly and not too attractive to fans. And that scares me a little."

Grooves that are less sharp can't dig into the ball's cover as easily, so the ball comes off the face with less spin. Grooves with less volume than the current square grooves will channel less water and debris off the face at impact, possibly leading to fliers out of light rough and maybe even the middle of the fairway on dewy mornings.

"That's where I think you cross over into a little bit of absurdity," he said.

In Bermuda, Cink is going to closely watch Glover in the fairways; the U.S. Open champion won at Bethpage using a set of Nike Forged CCi irons that are nearly identical to Cink's. Glover will be playing this week with a new set of Nike's Victory Red Forged Half Cavity irons made with grooves that conform to next year's rules.

The 2010 season starts in 10 weeks. That's not a lot of time to practice not looking absurd.

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(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Titleist Releasing New Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C Wedges

Looking down in the address position, the new Titleist Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C wedges appear virtually identical to the Spin Milled wedges that have been on the market for the past several seasons. The photo on the right shows a 56° Spin Milled C-C wedge on the right, and a 56° Spin Milled wedge on the left.

However, new C-C  models have been created to conform to the USGA's new grooves regulations. Hence the C-C, which stands for "Condition of Competition."

In 2010, Titleist plans to sell both the larger, sharper-grooved Spin Mill wedges that are currently available, as well as the new C-C version. Where the big-groove version features a red saw-blade design on the toe, the new C-C wedges have a gold saw blade and a "C-C" on the hosel.

Spin Milled C-C wedges will come with a sticker on the face that says, "This Vokey Design wedge conforms to the new 2010 USGA/R&A groove rule and can be used in events that adopt the new rule as a Condition of Competition."

The company says that, in general, the new Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C wedges will produce higher launch, less spin and more run-out than previous generations of Spin Milled grooves.

The Spin Milled C-C wedges are made from soft 8620 carbon steel. With CNC-machined faces, each wedge has grooves that are precisely cut to the new USGA specifications. Then a series of milled micro edges are cut into the face—just like on the previously-released Spin Milled wedges—to create more friction.

"In reaction to the new groove rules we improved our Spin Milled process," Dan Stone, vice president of research and development for Titleist golf clubs, said in a statement. "We created a new cutting tool that allowed us to tighten our groove manufacturing tolerances by more than 40 percent.  With the new rules calling for a reduced edge radius and effectively less groove volume, we improved our process to get as close to the limits as possible."

The Spin Milled C-C wedges will be available in lofts between 48° and 64°, with several bounce options, for $125.

Looming Wedge Rules Create Key Dates for Golfers

Readers of The Shop know that the USGA has recently made some sweeping changes to the rules governing grooves in clubs with a loft of 25° or more. In a nutshell, the governing body of the game in the United States, Canada and Mexico has decided that the grooves on these clubs must be made smaller in volume and have edges that are less sharp.

(If you are interested in reading the USGA's announcement regarding the rule changes, click here.)

However, the rules kick in for different players at different times. Here are the keys dates:

JANUARY 1, 2010
All products submitted to the USGA for approval must contain the new, conforming grooves.

PGA Tour players, and golfers who try to qualify for PGA Tour events, will need to use equipment that has the new grooves starting on this date. Golfers who compete in the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open and U.S. Senior Open will need to use clubs with the new grooves as well. However, the USGA has ruled that golfers may use the older, non-conforming grooves at local qualifying tournaments for these events. At the sectional qualifying level, the new conforming grooves must be used.

JANUARY 1, 2011
This is a key date for weekend players because manufacturers will have to stop making and shipping clubs that contain the larger, sharper grooves.

This is why we've been reporting on so many new wedges recently; companies are scrambling to get high-spin clubs into the marketplace while they still can. Still, it's important to note that retailers will be able to sell any clubs they have in stock, even those with nonconforming grooves.

Amateur players who value spin may want to stock up before this date. Once supplies are gone, that's it.

JANUARY 1, 2014
All USGA and R&A championships will require competitors to use the newer, conforming grooves.

JANUARY 1, 2020
The USGA has said that it will evaluate the effects of the groove rules no sooner than this date.

JANUARY 1, 2024
As things stand now, this is the date when the vast majority of the world's golfers will have to start using the new grooves. Before this date, golfers will be free to play with the older, larger grooves, even in rounds used for handicap purposes.

TaylorMade Releasing Interchangeable-Face TP Wedges

Most golfers buy new wedges when the grooves in their old wedges have worn out, producing inconsistent results and making it tough to stop the ball quickly.

TaylorMade will soon offer an easier, and less expensive, way to get new-groove performance. Known for its adjustable r7 and R9 woods, the company's new TP wedges with xFT, short for  Exchangeable Face Technology, offer a new innovation in the market: replaceable face plates.

By using a torque wrench that is identical to the one that comes with the R9 driver, players can remove the face plate and screw in a new one with fresh grooves. Presto! In effect, you have a new wedge. The whole procedure can be done in about 60 seconds.

For professionals and amateurs who have custom grinds on the heels or toes of their wedges, being able to replace just the grooves could mean less time tweaking new wedges.

The new TP wedge will also offer an elegant solution to new USGA groove regulations. They will come with a Z groove plate that offers maximum spin and can be used by most golfers until 2024. A ZTP groove plate, which conforms to the new USGA regulations that go into effect Jan. 1, 2010, will be sold separately. The faces will cost $39 each.

Available in even-numbered lofts between 50° and 60° (as well as 64°), the TP wedges have a classic teardrop shape, several bounce options and come standard with KBS High-Rev shafts.

The new TaylorMade TP wedges will be available in October for $129.

Lucas Glover, Stewart Cink preparing for big equipment changes

AKRON, Ohio — The winners of the 2009 U.S. Open and British Open have a lot in common when it comes to equipment. Lucas Glover and Stewart Cink both use a Nike SQ Sumo² Tour driver, as well as the same Nike prototype putter and Nike CCi Forged irons.

But Glover told me Tuesday on the driving range at Firestone Country Club that the grooves in those irons will become non-conforming once the new rules go into effect on Jan. 1, 2010.

"I just don't understand it," he said, looking frustrated. "We've been progressive for a hundred years, and now we're backing up 20. I'm a little confused by it, but it's not my decision."

Both Glover and Cink—like most players on the PGA Tour—have started the testing process to learn how the new conforming grooves will affect their games.

During the week of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial in May, both Glover and Cink made trips to The Oven, Nike's club testing and development facility in Ft. Worth, Texas.

"There's not much difference when hitting shots from the fairway," Cink told me on Tuesday. "But you definitely lose a lot of spin from the rough."

After he completed the testing in May, Cink wrote on Twitter, "New grooves next year mean 10% less spin from the fairway and 60-70% less spin from the rough with short irons. Players will use a softer ball I believe."

Cink, who switched this season to the Nike One Tour D ball from the Nike One Black, told me that he'd likely need to make another ball change next season too.

So much for a quiet, restful off-season for these major champions.

(Photo by Stewart Franklin/Getty Images)

A crafty and legal plan to handle new groove rules

In the August issue of Golf Magazine, Rob Sauerhaft, Managing Editor (Equipment), gave a simple explanation of the upcoming groove rule changes:

"The cross-sectional area must have a smaller width and depth, and groove-edge sharpness must be rounder than current U-grooves."

Notice that Rob did not say that grooves must be V-shaped. Many manufacturers will likely continue to make U-shaped grooves in clubs with more than 25 degrees of loft, but the "new" U-grooves will simply be smaller with edges that are less sharp.

Rob went on to explain that starting in 2011, companies will only be able to make clubs with the new grooves. Companies can continue to sell wedges with current grooves through the end of 2010 as long as the wedge was introduced to the market by the end of 2009. For this reason, several brands are expected to hurry and get new wedges — with the larger, sharper groves — to the marketplace by the end of this model year so they can continue to sell them in 2010.

Rob offered several options for casual players: "Stick with your current wedges; stock up on wedges that feature existing U-grooves; or switch to wedges with new-for-2010 grooves that produce less 'bite' on shots from the rough."

I can use all the help I can get around the greens, so I plan to test lots of different wedges in the coming months. I'm going to ask friends what they like, go through a wedge fitting on a launch monitor ... everything! Then, while the selection should still be good, I'll buy two new gap, sand and lob wedges and stash all six clubs in a closet.

Money is tight for everyone (trust me, my wife and I just celebrated the arrival of our second child, I know), but I figure with relatively new wedges in my bag now, and two sets of back-ups, I'll be set with big-grooved, sharp wedges until 2012 or 2013.

Are you planning to buy a few wedges before the rule changes go into effect? Let me know in the comments area below.

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Ian Poulter tweets about groove changes

Here is an interesting steam of Tweets from Ian Poulter's Twitter page:

Ianjamespoulter i tested the new grooves with vokey in feb. what a difference no spinnnnnn. the usga are insane to make us change so quickly.

Ianjamespoulter i guess they were all bored sitting around that table drinking coffee and smoking cigars... get a life let us have fun on the course.

Ianjamespoulter it will cost the manufacturers millions to develop and distribute to all the stores global, so you AMs can get them before open qualifying.

Ianjamespoulter Our irons already comply, but wedges need to change for start of the year. all the best... thanks R&A and USGA softer balls here we come.

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(Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

High-Spinning Davis Love weighs in on grooves issues

It's always interesting to talk with a Tour player who relies on older, battle-tested equipment. Davis Love is that kind of player.

"I'm trying to hit it lower, and with less spin, on everything," he told me recently.

For that reason, Love uses a classic muscle-back blade, the Titleist Forged 680. The old-school clubs are about as forgiving as a Rottweiler, but they give the pure-hitting Love the ability to shape shots and control his ball flight effectively.

"I test stuff for [Titleist] all the time because they want my feedback," he said. "But the guys are honest, and don't say to me, 'Hey Davis, we could sell more AP2s if you would play them.'"

Like every other pro on Tour, the looming rule changes on grooves are on Love's mind these days. He has started testing clubs to see how his game will be affected, but the winner of the 1997 PGA Championship is in a unique situation. 

"I'm going to lose less [spin] than a lot of other guys," he said. "I don't play with the Vokey Spin Milled wedges, I play the regular wedges. And in fact, Vokey grinds mine down to make the edges less sharp. My wedges produce about 20% less spin than in most guys'."

For this reason, Love will not have to make as large an adjustment as lower-spinning players who have relied on U-grooves to help them.

"It'll be like when I first came out, when everybody had V-grooves," he said. "It's hard for the USGA to look back, but what we're doing is going back about 20 years."

Because Love spins the ball so much, it might seem odd that he chooses to carry a 17° hybrid club. Hybrids and rescue clubs typically launch shots higher than irons. But Love said that his Titleist 909H is the first hybrid that he can hit either high or low, so it has earned a spot in his bag.

Here is a complete list of Davis Love's golf clubs:

DRIVER: Titleist 909D3 (8.5°) with UST ProForce V2 X 76 shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD: Titleist F305 Prototype (13°) with UST ProForce V2 X 86 shaft
HYBRID: Titleist 909H (17°) with UST ProForce V2 Hybrid X 104 shaft
IRONS: Titleist Forged 680 (3-PW) with True Temper Dynamic Gold X-100 shafts
WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design (55°, 60°)
PUTTER: Scotty Cameron for Titleist 009 Newport
BALL: Titleist Pro V1x

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