Golf
Ping, PGA resolve club issue
2010-03-09 12:05
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Ping issue resolved (File)
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Phoenix - The 20-year-old square-groove clubs that sparked a furore on the PGA Tour this season will be prohibited on the tour from March 29 thanks to an agreement reached with Ping executives.
Ping chairperson and chief executive John Solheim said on Monday that the firm will waive its rights under a 1993 lawsuit that grandfathered in the clubs made before April of 1990, even though they do not conform to new rules adopted by the US Golf Association and the Royal and Ancient mandating shallower "V-grooves".
The lawsuit meant that the old Ping-Eye 2 irons and wedges remained legal on the PGA Tour, and the decision of some players, including Phil Mickelson, to put them in their bags whipped up a controversy over whether they violated the spirit of the current regulations.
Solheim said the waiver agreed to by the firm will apply to the PGA Tour, the Champions Tour and the Nationwide developmental tour.
"As a result of a request from the USGA, PING will also apply the waiver to the US Open in June," Solheim said of the major championship that is a US Golf Association event but is also recognized as an official event by the US and European tours.
"The PGA Tour will then adopt a Condition of the Competition that does not provide an exception for the pre-April 1990 Ping-Eye 2 irons."
PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem welcomed Ping's move.
"John Solheim and Ping had a terrific opportunity to do something very positive and significant for the game of golf and we very much appreciate his willingness to take this action," Finchem said.
Solheim said he believed the waiver "levels the playing field on the PGA Tour," but noted that it "keeps in place all of our other rights established in the 1993 PGA Tour settlement and the 1990 USGA settlement, including ensuring amateurs will continue to be able to play their pre-April 1990 Eye 2s at all amateur events played under the USGA Rules of Golf."
Both Ping and the tour noted that under the agreement modern Eye 2 irons and wedges that conform to the new rules are eligible for use.
Both Ping and the tour welcomed an announcement by the USGA of a planned forum later this year to discuss ways of improving the process of making equipment rules.
"Today's announcement by the USGA that it intends to review its rulemaking process and consider the input of all stakeholders in the game of golf demonstrates the USGA's commitment to our great game and its obligation to develop and implement rules for the game that are in the best interests of all concerned," Finchem said, promising the tour's participation in the forum.
Solheim said he was encouraged by the USGA's announcement that it would see input from more sources, including manufacturers, in the rule making process.
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