Equipment News: - Posted 3rd November 1998

USGA to strengthen equipment standards

Newark, N.J. - The United States Golf Association has just announced that it is developing and intends to implement tests for golf balls and clubs to strengthen standards designed to limit the distance that the most highly skilled players can drive a golf ball.

The USGA, acting under its authority as the national governing body of golf, said that virtually all golf balls and clubs currently in use would not be affected by the new standards. These clubs and balls will continue to conform to the Rules of Golf.

"These measures will not take balls or clubs out of golfers' bags," USGA Executive Director David Fay said. "The average player will not be affected much by these actions. The best players will be impacted the most by capping the distance they gain from spring-like effect in driving clubs and the amount of potential increased distance of golf balls.

"We are concerned about added distance resulting solely from enhancements in equipment with no improvement in the skill level of a player," Fay continued. "This long-held USGA principle is best evidenced by our work in establishing golf ball standards over the last 75 years.

"If history tells us anything, it is that added distance inevitably will lead to longer golf courses, escalating costs, and slower play. Thus, the game will suffer."

Golf balls

A new test, which will update the current overall distance standard (ODS), will use a machine that launches the golf ball with tightly controlled speeds, spins, and launch angles to measure its flight characteristics. Each ball will be evaluated at its optimal overall distance, something the USGA's current mechanical-testing device, Iron Byron, cannot do. Manufacturers were first notified in December of 1995 of the USGA's intention to update the ODS standard.

A second test, which will upgrade the current Initial Velocity test, will be used to evaluate golf balls under impact conditions that more closely represent the capabilities of the longest-hitting players. This test will be conducted at a higher speed and will be more technically sound than the current method.

The USGA soon will begin informal consultations with golf ball manufacturers on both procedures. After details have been finalized in the spring of 1999, the USGA will initiate a period of notice and comment, including an open forum.

Golf clubs

The USGA has also decided to adopt a test protocol to measure the spring-like effect in golf club heads.

The spring-like effect test measures and limits the rebound velocity of a golf ball off a club face. If the rebound velocity exceeds a specified limit, it will be deemed non-conforming to Rule 4-1e, Appendix II ("the material and construction of the club face shall not have the effect at impact of a spring"). This test has been validated as sound by outside technical experts, and a notice to manufacturers outlining its implementation will be issued shortly. The USGA will also adopt a clarification to Appendix II. This clarification makes explicit that the club head is involved and incorporates the test by reference. It will appear in the next edition of the Rules of Golf.

The USGA Executive Committee first announced its intention to develop such a test protocol during the U.S. Open this summer in San Francisco. Since the U.S. Open, the USGA staff has formulated and refined this protocol and pursued a period of notice and comment with manufacturers, including an open forum on September 28 in Basking Ridge, N.J.