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My Shot The USGA's proposed equipment restrictions are an overreaction to a nonexistent problemPosted: Tuesday January 08, 2002 12:35 PMBy Wally Uihlein
The proposed rule regarding clubs is even more foreboding. The USGA intends to limit the size of a clubhead to 385 cubic centimeters and the length of a shaft to 47 inches (except for putters). The 385 cc restriction is arbitrary and fails to take into consideration that drivers exceeding this size are either already on the market or about to be introduced. Limiting large-headed drivers is most likely to impact recreational golfers, who favor the more forgiving clubs, not the Tour pros the USGA continually cites as the excuse for its increasingly restrictive regulations. The USGA acts as if improved technology is going to make the game so easy that the average player will lose interest. The truth is, despite better technology, participation is flat, rounds played are down, and the golf industry is mired in the same recession as the rest of the U.S. The timing of the proposed rule changes (which could take effect as early as this year), the absence of any dialogue before they were announced, and giving the industry only two months to present objections prove that the patricians of the USGA aren't making decisions for the good of the game. Rather, they're making important decisions without meaningful give-and-take between the rulers and those who are trying to play by the rules. Uihlein, 52, is the CEO of the Acushnet Company, which owns Cobra, FootJoy, Pinnacle and Titleist.
Issue date: January 14, 2002
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Damian Strohmeyer
