Golfweek

Many golf club manufacturers are looking at 2010 as the year of the wedge.

This is because USGA and R&A rules prohibit these manufacturers from producing wedges with aggressive U grooves, or square grooves, after next year. For amateur golfers around the world, 2010 will be their last opportunity to buy high-spin wedges that will remain legal and conforming until 2024.

These wedges can be sold at retail after 2010, but they can no longer be manufactured. So the supply will dwindle after the manufacturing period ends on Dec. 31, 2010.

Wedges with the current U grooves can be used for handicap purposes and in most amateur tournaments until 2024. The PGA Tour will switch to low-spin grooves on Jan. 1.

“I tell all my amateur buddies to rush right out there and buy as many wedges as they can afford,” said Roger Cleveland, who designs wedges and irons for Callaway Golf. “This is the time to stockpile wedges.”

The reaction of some manufacturers has been to introduce new high-spin wedges, even though these wedges cannot be made after next year. In effect, these wedges have a one-year life span in the marketplace.

The new PGA Tour grooves for ...

Stephen Ames (PGA Tour – Children’s Miracle Network Classic)

Driver: Nike SQ Dymo (9.5 degree)

Fairway woods: Nike SQ II 3-wood (13 degree) and 5-wood (19 degree)

Irons: Nike Victory Red Blades (3-PW)

Wedges: Nike VR (54 and 60 degree)

Putter: Nike Method prototype

Ball: Nike One Tour

• • •

Michelle Wie (LPGA – Lorena Ochoa Invitational)

Driver: Nike SQ Dymo STR8-FIT

Fairway woods: Nike Dymo 3-wood (15 degree) and 5-wood (19 degree)

Irons: Nike Victory Red Blades (4-PW)

Wedges: Nike VR (52, 56 and 60 degree)

Putter: Nike Method

Ball: Nike One Tour

• • •

Gregory Bourdy (European Tour – Hong Kong Open)

Driver: Titleist 909D2 (8.5 degree)

Fairway wood: Titleist 909F2 3-wood (13.5 degree)

Hybrid: Titleist 585.H (17 degree)

Irons: Titleist New MB (3-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design Spin Milled (52 and 58 degree)

Putter: Scotty Cameron 350

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

• • •

Tiger Woods (Australasian Tour – JBWere Masters)

Driver: Nike SQ Dymo (10 degree with Mitsubishi Diamana White Board 83x shaft)

Fairway woods: Nike SQ II 3-wood (15 degree with Mitsubishi Diamana Blue Board 103x shaft) and 5-wood (19 degree with Mitsubishi Diamana Blue Board 103x shaft)

Irons: Nike Blades (3-PW)

Wedges: Nike VR (56 and 60 degree)

Putter: Scotty ...

My friend Dave Lagarde worked 42 years at the Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans. When he wasn’t hustling people on the golf course, he was a sports columnist.

Lagarde, now retired from the Times-Picayune but still a spirited Internet golf writer, putts better with a sand wedge than most golfers do with a putter.

His method is straightforward: Using a putting stroke, Lagarde contacts the equator of the golf ball with the leading edge of his sand wedge, and the ball comes off the wedge with an impressive hug-the-ground roll. The ball usually does not bounce or waver.

I mention this because a new putter – called Utopia in honor of Utopia, Texas, where it is handmade – is based on the same principle. This putter face has a sharp ridge that runs across the face from heel to toe.

As a result of this design, the ridge contacts the ball in the same way the leading edge of Lagarde’s sand wedge contacts the ball. The ball appears to roll with overspin. There is no visual skipping. Best of all, it is surprisingly easy to putt with the Utopia.

The concept is not new. MacGregor had a putter 50 years ...

Why have you been so critical of the USGA’s new grooves mandate?

I think the rule is ill-conceived because it is based on some questionable data.

You are referring to the relationship of driving accuracy to the money list on the PGA Tour, right? For several years, the top money winners have been near the bottom in driving accuracy.

Yes. I don’t think there will be any significant change in driving accuracy or the money list. The elite golfers will adapt fairly rapidly to the new grooves, which are designed to produce less spin out of the rough.

Will the grooves changeover harm the game?

It’s not necessary. For a very, very small percentage of golfers (touring professionals), the rule is being changed for 35 million golfers (around the world). I think that’s misguided. I think the USGA has better things to do with its time and money.

Because touring pros are switching in 2010 to new grooves but most of us don’t have to switch until 2024, is this bifurcation (different rules for different golfers)?

Yes, it is. If we expect golfers to abide by the rules, the rules must make intuitive sense. This ...

The U.S. Golf Association has reversed its original decision and will allow TaylorMade to sell interchangeable U-groove faces for its TP xFT wedges in 2010.

The new xFT wedges with interchangeable faces will start appearing in golf shops in December. The faces can be changed with a torque wrench that quickly loosens and tightens two screws on the back of the wedges. The interchangeable faces are flat in the front and look like normal wedge faces.

After the USGA informed TaylorMade in October that xFT faces with large U grooves could not be sold in 2010 – although sale of smaller-groove faces was permitted – the company filed a formal appeal.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2011, all irons and wedges with large U grooves no longer can be made or distributed by golf club manufacturers. However, the big grooves will be widely available in 2010.

TaylorMade based its case on this 2010 availability, arguing that interchangeable wedge faces should be subject to the same deadlines as regular wedges.

Benoit Vincent, TaylorMade’s chief technical officer, flew to USGA headquarters in Far Hills, N.J., to present TaylorMade’s case.

The USGA’s reversal of its original ruling was announced on Nov. 11 ...

Phil Mickelson (WGC - HSBC Champions)

Driver: Callaway FT-9 Tour Authentic (7.5 degree with Mitsubishi Fubuki 73x shaft)

Fairway wood: Callaway Big Bertha Diablo 3-wood (15 degree with Mitsubishi Fubuki 73x shaft)

Hybrid: Callaway PM prototype (22 degree with Mitsubishi Thump shaft)

Irons: Callaway X Forged (4) and Callaway X Prototype (5-PW)

Wedges: Callaway X Forged (56, 60 and 64 degree)

Putter: Odyssey White Hot XG PM Blade

Ball: Callaway Tour ix

• • •

Bo Bae Song (LPGA - Mizuno Classic)

Driver: TaylorMade R9 (8.5 degree with Mitsubishi Bassara 53 shaft)

Fairway woods: TaylorMade V Steel 3-wood (15 degree with Graphite Design Tour AD) and TaylorMade V Steel 5-wood (18 degree with Graphite Design Tour AD)

Hybrid: TaylorMade Rescue TP FCT (22 degree with Mitsubishi Bassara 315 shaft)

Irons: TaylorMade Burner (5-PW)

Wedges: TaylorMade rac (52 degree), Honma Beres prototype (56 degree) and Honma W101 (60 degree)

Putter: TaylorMade Rossa Spider Balero

Ball: TaylorMade TP Red LDP

TaylorMade’s TP wedges with xFT (exchangeable face technology) have hit a speed bump.

Although the U.S. Golf Association has approved the wedges, it has told TaylorMade not to sell interchangeable faces with aggressive U grooves. Faces with smaller grooves that meet 2010 PGA Tour specifications are OK, according to the USGA, but faces with larger grooves are not.

TaylorMade immediately appealed the USGA decision, and chief technical officer Benoit Vincent traveled to USGA headquarters in Far Hills, N.J., in October to present his case. Vincent said he would discuss the wedges after Nov. 9, when a ruling on the appeal is expected.

The wedges, from 50 to 64 degrees, are scheduled for release early next year. A face plate can be removed and replaced in a few minutes, using the same torque wrench designed for TaylorMade drivers.

Equipment appeals are heard three times per year by the USGA, during regularly scheduled meetings of the Executive Committee and the Equipment Standards Committee.

TaylorMade’s argument is simple: Golf club manufacturers are allowed to produce wedges with larger, aggressive grooves during 2010, so TaylorMade should be allowed to sell face plates with the same grooves during the same period ...

• In Mesquite, Nev., 21-year-old former hockey player Jamie Sadlowski of St. Paul, Alberta won his second consecutive Re/Max World Long Drive Championship with a 384-yard drive in the Oct. 30 final.

Hitting at 1,600 feet elevation, Sadlowski used a 6.5-degree Adams 9032LD driver and a Pinnacle Gold FX Long golf ball. (The 9032LD, available in lofts of 4.5 to 8.5 degrees, is the long-drive version of the 9032LS driver for consumers.) The FX Long ball, about to be replaced by the new Pinnacle Gold Distance, was the official ball of the Re/Max event.

Meanwhile, Long Drive Hall of Famer Bobby Wilson, 53, swung the same 6.5-degree Adams 9032LD driver to win both the senior (45 and over) and super senior (53 and over) divisions. Wilson, who lives in North Little Rock, Ark., hit his longest drive of 378 yards in the senior final.

Sadlowski and Wilson used a House of Forged graphite shaft (48 inches). The finals were held at night under cool conditions and will be telecast by ESPN on Christmas Eve.

• Ian Poulter used a Rife Antigua putter to win the Barclays Singapore Open. Poulter switched to the Antigua earlier this ...

Ross Fisher (European Tour - Volvo World Match Play Championship)

Driver: Titleist 909D3 (8.5 degree with Mitsubishi Diamana White Board 83x shaft)

Fairway wood: King Cobra S9-1 3-wood (15 degree with Mitsubishi Diamana Blue Board shaft)

Irons (2-9): Titleist 695MB

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design Spin Milled (48, 54 and 60 degree)

Putter: Scotty Cameron prototype

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

• • • 

Ian Poulter (European Tour - Barclays Singapore Open)

Driver: King Cobra ZL (9.5 degree)

Fairway woods: Titleist 909F2 3-wood (13.5 degree) and 906F2 5-wood (18 degree)

Hybrid: Titleist 909H (19 degree with Aldila NV Hybrid 85x shaft)

Irons: King Cobra Pro CB and Pro MB

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design Spin Milled (54 and 60 degree)

Putter: Rife Antigua

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

• • •

Na Yeon Choi (LPGA - Hana Bank • KOLON Championship)

Driver: TaylorMade R9 (9.5 degree with Mitsubishi Diamana White Board 63g shaft)

Fairway woods: Callaway Big Bertha 3-wood (13 degree with Mitsubishi Bassara Standard 63S shaft) and Callaway Big Bertha 4-wood (17 degree)

Hybrid: TaylorMade Rescue TP FCT (19 degree with Graphite Design YS-6 shaft)

Irons: Callaway X-20 Tour (4-5) and X-Forged (6-PW)

Wedges: Callaway X-Forged (52 and 58 degree)

Putter: Odyssey White Hot XG 330 Mallet

Ball: Titleist ...

James Achenbach talks about the new models of the Titleist AP1 and AP2 irons, which are more appealing visually and have vibration-dampening technology.

The first putters in golf resembled irons with lower lofts. They were small-headed blades and remained popular, in one design or another, for centuries.

Larger mallet-headed putters weren’t far behind, but these mallets did not become a dominant force in the golf marketplace until recent years.

Why now? Because larger putters, led by the omnipresent Odyssey 2-Ball, are better able to take advantage of modern structural concepts such as:

• A movable center of gravity (mallets have more flexibility for relocating the CG).

• A higher moment of inertia (mallets are more stable, at least in principle, because of elevated MOI).

Sure, Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin loves the simplicity of his skinny Bulls Eye putter, and Tiger Woods has never used a large putter head in his pro career. Many top players, though, have switched to mallets or mid-mallets (slightly smaller than mallets, but still substantially larger than blade-type putters).

There is little doubt that mallets and mid-mallets will flourish because of new lightweight materials and design schemes. These putters are guaranteed to remain large because of a U.S. Golf Association and R&A rule requiring putters to be no deeper from front to back as they are long ...

Troy Matteson (PGA Tour – Frys.com Open)

Driver: Titleist 909D2 (8.5 degree with Aldila NV 65x shaft)

Fairway wood: Ping TiSi 3-wood (14 degree with Fujikura Vista TS 70x shaft)

Irons: Titleist ZB (2-7) and Titleist ZM (8-9)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design 200 Series (48 degree) and Vokey TVD (54 and 60 degree)

Putter: Odyssey White Hot Tour #2

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

• • •

Matt Every (Nationwide Tour – Tour Championship)

Driver: TaylorMade R9 (9.5 degree with Mitsubishi Fubuki 73 shaft)

Fairway woods: TaylorMade R9 3-wood (15 degree with Mitsubishi Fubuki 83 shaft) and TaylorMade Burner 5-wood (17.5 degree with Mitsubishi Fubuki 83 shaft)

Irons: Bridgestone Golf J36 Pocket Cavity (3-4) and Bridgestone Golf J36 Cavity Back (5-PW)

Wedges: Cleveland CG12 (54 and 60 degree)

Putter: Guerin Rife Aussie

Ball: Bridgestone B330-S (2009)

• • •

Phil Blackmar (Champions Tour – AT&T Championship)

Driver: TaylorMade R9 460 (9.5 degree with Matrix Ozik XCON F6M2 shaft)

Fairway wood: TaylorMade R9 3-wood (15 degree with Matrix Ozik XCON F6M2 shaft)

Hybrid: TaylorMade Rescue TP (19 degree with Fujikura Rombax 9E05 shaft)

Irons: TaylorMade Tour Preferred (4-PW)

Wedges: TaylorMade rac (52, 54 and 60 degree)

Putter: Guerin Rife Abaco

Ball: TaylorMade TP Black LDP ...

Tour player J.J. Henry initiated his little gag.

It went like this: Henry, chasing the $1 million first prize in the PGA Tour’s Kodak Challenge, decided to switch from his normal 44.75-inch driver to a 48-inch driver at the Justin Timberlake event.

Why would he switch? So he could hit an extra-long drive, reach the green with his second shot, then putt for an eagle on the designated Kodak hole, the par-5 16th at TPC Summerlin.

Henry did in fact eagle the hole. With three holes left in the year-long competition, he stands at 14-under-par, trailing leader Kevin Streelman by two shots.

However, Henry did not use a 48-inch driver. He joked to Callaway tour reps that he would do it, although he stuck with his customary FT-9 Tour Authentic driver – actual loft, 9.7 degrees, with an X-flex UST Axiv Core shaft. The length is 44.75 inches, and the swingweight is D4.

Callaway’s public relations department briefly circulated the 48-inch story, then offered a correction.

Martin Laird (PGA Tour – Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open)

Driver: TaylorMade Burner 09 (10.5 degree with Mitsubishi Shaq shaft)

Fairway woods: TaylorMade Tour Burner 4-wood (17.5 degree with Mitsubishi Diamana Blue Board 83 shaft) and 5-wood (19 degree with Mitsubishi Diamana Blue Board 83 shaft)

Irons (3-PW): TaylorMade Tour Preferred

Wedges: TaylorMade rac (56 and 60 degree)

Putter: TaylorMade Rossa Corza (long)

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

• • •

Lee Westwood (European Tour – Portugal Masters)

Driver: Ping G10 (10.5 degree)

Fairway woods: Ping Rapture V2 3- and 5-woods

Irons (3-PW): Ping i10

Wedges: Ping Tour W (54 and 58 degree)

Putter: Ping Redwood Anser

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

• • •

Chad Collins (Nationwide Tour – Miccosukee Championship)

Driver: Ping G15 (9 degree)

Fairway wood: TaylorMade V Steel (15 degree)

Hybrid: Adams Idea Pro Gold (18 degree with Aldila VS Proto 80 shaft)

Irons: Mizuno MP-60 (4) and MP-32 (5-PW)

Wedges: Mizuno T Series

Putter: Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

• • •

John Cook (Champions Tour – Administaff Small Business Classic)

Driver: Nike SQ Dymo STR8-FIT (8.5 degree)

Fairway wood: TaylorMade Burner 3-wood (13 degree with Fujikura Rombax 8Z08 shaft)

Hybrid: TaylorMade Rescue TP (17 degree with Fujikura Rombax shaft)

Irons ...

>> Retief Goosen played TaylorMade’s new R9 TP irons at the Presidents Cup. These irons are unique in that the 2-iron through the 5-iron have something called a Velocity Control Chamber. According to TaylorMade, this foam-filled chamber allows a large portion of the face to exist unsupported, increasing ball velocity. The entire set features progressive face thickness (as the irons get shorter, the face gets thicker).

The R9 TP irons are scheduled to be available Nov. 1. Suggested retail price for eight irons is $1,125.

>> Cavity-back long irons were popular at the Presidents Cup. Geoff Ogilvy and Anthony Kim, for example, employed the same strategy of adding a perimeter-weighted, cavity-back iron at the long end of their sets.

Kim played Nike Victory Red forged blades (4-PW) except for a full-cavity Victory Red 3-iron. Ogilvy used Cobra Pro MB forged blades (3-PW) along with a Pro CB 2-iron.

>> Phil Mickelson again had two prototype Callaway PM hybrids (18 and 22 degrees) in his bag at the Presidents Cup. But not even celebrity status is enough to land them in the hands of non-tour players, much to the dismay of singer Justin Timberlake.

Timberlake, an official paid member of Callaway’s ...