The "square-grooves" dispute between the PGA tour and golf manufacturer Ping has been resolved, with Ping Chairman and CEO John Solheim announcing on Monday that the company will waive any rights regarding the Ping Eye 2 golf club.
The new ruling is effective from March 29, meaning that from that date onwards the Eye 2 will be prohibited from use on tour. "John Solheim and Ping had a terrific opportunity to do something very positive and significant for the game of golf and we very much appreciate his willingness to take this action," PGA tour commissioner Tim Finchem commented.
Solheim couldn't resist getting in a "told-you-so" jibe, commenting: "We're thankful for Commissioner Finchem's understanding of our position and his role in helping bring about this resolution. We all believe it is in the best interests of golf," before adding "it levels the playing field on the PGA TOUR and resolves a very unfortunate situation that we predicted would happen when the USGA first proposed the new groove rule more than two years ago."
Both parties also stated that the waiver will not remove all Eye 2 clubs from play, since the manufacturer has also produced Eye 2 irons and wedges with grooves that conform to the 2010 rule. These clubs remain eligible for use.
At the beginning of the season, clubs with square or U-shaped grooves were outlawed by the USGA, with the aim being to reduce the amount of spin that players were able to transmit onto a ball.
But thanks to a legal battle almost 20 years ago, Ping's victorious lawsuit back in 1993 meant the square-grooved Eye 2 remained immune from the new ruling. And it's because of that immunity that the Eye 2 club has proven a popular addition to some golfer's armouries this season.
Any player who could lay his hands on the old club would technically have an advantage over an opponent not packing the Ping. We say technically, since players opting to use the club have hardly dazzled so far this season. As befits his incorrigible nature, John Daly was the first player to use the club in a tournament, though it made little difference to the player's game - he crashed out of the Sony Open without making the cut.
Daly caught a little flak for his move, but that was nothing compared to the storm that Phil Mickelson provoked when he included the club at his first game of the season, the Farmer's Insurance Open. Mickelson, then the world No. 2 (he has since slipped to No. 3) was criticised by fellow players for not following the spirit of the game, and was even referred to as a cheat by Scott McCarron, though McCarron later apologised.
With the resolution between the PGA and Ping, it seems any continuing controversy has been nipped in the bud, and the rest of the season can unfold in blissfully harmonious accord with nary a moment of contention.
Now, any word on a date for Tiger Woods' return?
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