HIGH LOFTED WEDGES, the USGA's LATEST TARGET

Jim Vernon, elected to his second and last one-year term as President of the U.S. Golf Association, pronounced 2009 as "the year of communication".

As of January 1, 2010, all major professional tours, as well as invitational events like the Masters, have agreed to require players to use new groove configurations that reduce groove area. This requirement will reduce spin on certain shots, particularly shots from the rough.

By 2010, all touring pros and amateurs who compete in tour events, will be required to play with conforming sets of wedges and irons. Elite amateur tournaments will start invoking this rule, classified as a condition of competition, in 2014.

For golfers who think their favorite wedges are under attack, additional wedge restrictions were bubbling under the surface at the USGA meeting. Last November, Dick Rugge, senior USGA technical director, sent letters to all club manufactures advising them of the study of the high-lofted wedges and their effect on the game. "We are just getting started; we are going forward with lab testing and player testing. We are conducting tests with the V grooves. This is one of several conforming configurations under the new groove rule," Rugge said.

Is the 60-degree wedge, widely used at all levels of golf, in danger? Probably not. "As a broad topic, we are looking at wedges above 60-degrees, " Rugge said.

Ramifications of the groove rule continues to loom. Manufacturers have agreed to end the production of the old grooves, shaped like a U, at the end of 2009. Although clubheads with these old grooves can be assembled until the end of 2010, you may want to think about this information in purchasing a new wedge for your game.

Keep posted for the latest information affecting our game.

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