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Driving divide R&A won't test 'spring-like effect;' USGA 'disagrees'
NEW YORK (AP) -- Golf's two largest governing bodies can't agree whether extra distance off the tee is bad for the game. Now, golf will be under different equipment standards depending on where it is played. That means the thin-faced drivers, banned by the U.S. Golf Association because shots go as much as 30 yards farther, will be permissible in tournaments outside North America, including next year's Ryder Cup. "We have a difference of philosophy, not science," Dick Rugge, senior technical director of the USGA, said Friday. The Royal & Ancient Golf Club, which governs golf everywhere except the United States and Mexico, announced Thursday there was no need for a test to measure the springlike effect from drivers such as the ERC by Callaway Golf. The USGA implemented such a test two years ago. Its concern was that unlike the first wave of metal drivers that helped with control as much as small gains in distance, the new thin-faced drivers primarily helped only the more skilled players with drives so big it might render some courses obsolete. Rugge said driving distance on the PGA Tour increased at a rate of 1 foot a year from 1968 to 1994. Over the past five years, he said distance has gone up six times as much, to an average of 2 yards a year.
The St. Andrews-based R&A did not think the integrity of the game was compromised. "Based on the data currently available to the R&A, any consequential increase in driving distance ... is not considered to be detrimental to the game," the R&A said. It's the first time the governing bodies have had such a sharp difference in opinion since the R&A endorsed a smaller golf ball. It finally gave in to the USGA standard in the 1970s, and a ball with a diameter of 1.68 inches is now the standard. "We don't like that, and the R&A doesn't like it, either," Rugge said of the rare difference of opinion. But he said springlike effect was only one sentence out of 10 pages dedicated to equipment issues. "We realize it's an important point, but this isn't the Grand Canyon," Rugge said. "I don't think it's going to poison the well between the USGA and the R&A. If anything, it's going to help us work more closely together." Ping Golf chairman John Solheim, whose driver conforms to USGA standards, praised the R&A decision. "Physics is limiting enough. The little bit of gains that are left are not going to make that much difference," Solheim said. "It gives us something to work on. It's going to be healthy for the game." And he said it could spell trouble for the USGA. "Americans aren't going to want to play with clubs they perceive don't go as far as the rest of the world," Solheim said.
But it changed its mind, going so far as to say even greater technology advancements will not significantly increase driving distance. The R&A suggested other reasons why players are hitting the ball farther than ever - athleticism, coaching and golf course maintenance in which the fairways are cut low so the ball rolls farther. "This is a confirmation of what we have believed all along," Callaway spokesman Larry Dorman said. "Extra distance when provided with human power is not a threat." Callaway, which began marketing the ERC driver in Europe and Japan last spring, is among the 21 clubs that the USGA has deemed nonconforming because the ball springs off the face of the club too quickly. A dozen players used a thin-faced driver in the British Open, although extra distance wasn't as important at St. Andrews because of the hard, fast conditions during a dry spell. Recently, Pierre Fulke won the Scottish PGA using the ERC. Because of the R&A's decision, more players might be inclined to use it during competition outside North America. Canada falls under R&A jurisdiction but decided to follow the USGA in this matter. The next big tournament where PGA Tour players can use a "hot driver" is the American Express Championship at Valderrama, Spain, where Tiger Woods is the defending champion. Woods has said he wasn't interested in the controversial drivers. The drivers can also be used in the Match Play Championship in January in Australia. And they will be acceptable for the Ryder Cup, played at The Belfry in England next September. The R&A said it could take another look if it determines golfers are gaining "significant distances." Dave Billings, whose Dogleg Right company makes a thin-faced driver, said that might not be necessary. "We're close to the physical limits," Billings said.
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