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More fodder for driver controversy

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Posted: Monday May 08, 2000 10:10 PM

It looks as if Colin Montgomerie is gearing up just in time to come close again at the U.S. Open. Monty won the Novotel Perrier Open de France over the weekend, his first W in 2000. Of more intrigue, perhaps, is Monty's decision to thus far not use the Callaway ERC driver that has been banned by the U.S. Golf Association and the RCGA, its Canadian counterpart. Nineteen players had it in their bags at the Open de France but Montgomerie, who is on Callaway's playing staff and has been practicing with the club, did not.

THE SHORT GAME Speaking of getting our attention again, as Monty did, Laura Davies notched another LPGA victory over the weekend. If the 36-year-old Davies had spent any time working on her game during her prime, she would have dominated the LPGA Tour then more than Karrie Webb does at the present. Davies' short game, especially her putting, has always been a bit of a problem and she has had difficulty finding a driver that suits her powerful swing. Still, she belongs in the Hall of Fame and her win at the Philips Invitational gets Davies within two points of qualifying. ... I don't like to see non-players inducted into a Hall of Fame. Such institutions should be for athletes, not paper pushers, administrators and other hangers-on. So thumbs up to Judy Rankin's enshrinement. She earned it on the course as her tour's best player over a period of years. Thumbs up, too, to Jackie Burke and Neil Coles , former great players. Thumbs down to Deane Beman , who as commissioner oversaw the PGA Tour as its profits skyrocketed but was considered cold and a bully by many tournament sponsors. I suppose longtime rules officials, scorekeepers and TPC club pros will get into the Hall one of these days, too. ... Earlier this year, the guy wearing the media bull's eye was Frenchman Jean Van de Velde. Every tournament he played, someone in the local media wrote a story about him. The spotlight now has been turned on Gary Nicklaus in the wake of his near-win in Atlanta. Of course, once we get past the U.S. Open and start thinking about the British Open, it'll go right back to Van de Velde. ... The club about which I hear more fellow golfers saying, "Gee, I've got to get one of those"? It's the Odyssey White Hot, a putter made with an insert of the same material that golf balls are made from. I guess I better try one out and file a report.

The Royal and Ancient, which makes the rules for Europe, has yet to issue a decision on the driver's legality, but signs point toward it siding with the USGA. Monty said the ERC adds 30 yards to his drives; that seems like an exaggeration, but the number of players already using it puts a hotter spotlight on the club and the R&A. At the recent Open de España, 14 players played with the Callaway ERC. One of them was Eduardo Romero, who finished third.

The temporary split on whether the club should be allowed shows you the problem with golf's ruling bodies: They are slow to act. The USGA waited until it was too late to do anything about the long putter. For a player to win a European tour event with a club that isn't legal for competition in the U.S. seems silly. The R&A is dragging its feet, although a decision seems inevitable, if not downright necessary, before July's British Open. Imagine if Montgomerie, say, was to win the British Open using a driver banned by the world's other leading governing body. Or what if the R&A eventually decided against the club, but only after Montgomerie used it to win the Open? That victory would be forever tainted.

How does this whole thing affect you and I, the average golfer? It doesn't, except that the North American ban and the growing number of pros using it make the club a huge curiosity. Admit it, after all this you'd like to get your hands on one to check it out (the ERC is currently sold only in overseas markets). And if you liked it, you'd probably use it, USGA ban and all. Whether this controversy between ruling bodies and the USGA edict hurts or helps sales of the driver remains to be see. But this much is known: You won't see one in Monty's bag at Pebble Beach during the U.S. Open.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Gary Van Sickle is a regular contributor to the magazine's Golf Plus edition. Click here to send a question to his Golf Mailbag.

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.

 

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