INCAgolf All you ever wanted to know about golf (well almost)

ORLANDO, Fla. – Can the PGA Tour stop Phil Mickelson, John Daly and other players from carrying square-grooved Ping Eye 2 wedges that were manufactured from 1984 until April 1, 1990, even though U.S. Golf Association rules specifically allow the use of these wedges?

Maybe, although it wouldn’t be easy.

Here’s why: In 1993, the PGA Tour agreed to settle a lawsuit over square grooves that was initiated by Ping (the USGA already had settled in 1990). As part of the settlement, the Tour agreed to follow all USGA rules, including the one that grandfathers the use of Eye 2 irons and wedges from the 1984-2000 time period.

Mickelson, Daly and other players, confronted with the new 2010 condition of competition requiring touring pros to use smaller, lower-spinning grooves, decided to experiment with the old Ping Eye 2 wedges from that six-year manufacturing window.

Why? Because some of the wedges contain grooves that not only are square, but also contain exceptionally sharp edges. It is these groove edges that are responsible for most of the spin generated by these famously high-spinning wedges.

“There are multiple different shapes to different U grooves (square grooves),” said Ping CEO John Solheim …

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SAN DIEGO

Heavy lies the crown, as golf’s king-in-waiting Phil Mickelson discovered after making a steady-as-she-goes season debut at Torrey Pines Thursday.

Mickelson, who is looking to fill the big shoes of Tiger Woods, had barely finished signing his scorecard for an opening 2-under-par round of 70 when Robert Allenby questioned his integrity.

Mickelson is using a Ping Eye 2 wedge at the Farmers Insurance Open which is allowed under an old court decision, but many players believe goes against the spirit of new rules which prohibit grooves that allow more control of shots.

“I just believe that even if they are legal, you still shouldn’t be using them,” said Allenby. “Just because someone has a couple sitting in their garage somewhere or they’ve got them off eBay or whatever, I just don’t think that’s the integrity of the game.”

http://msn.foxsports.com/golf/story/mickelson-caught-up-in-groove-controversy

LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP)—Bill Haas’ hands were frigid and shaking when he stepped up to his second shot on the 90th hole, knowing he probably needed a birdie to win his first PGA Tour title at the Bob Hope Classic after 140 fruitless starts.

A $900,000 check and a Masters exemption were riding on this tense finish to a marathon tournament Monday. Haas even figured his famous father might be watching somewhere in the gallery, although he wasn’t sure.

It was all a recipe for panic, but Haas cooked up something remarkable instead.

http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/pga/news?slug=ap-hopeclassic&prov=ap&type=lgns

They say baseball is a game of inches. Same goes for football, too.

Actually, that phrase can be used to describe most sports. Basketball. Tennis. Hockey. In each one, the difference between victory and defeat can be a matter of inches.

Golf is a pursuit more often surveyed in yards, but perhaps no other game defines success so often by such small units of measurement.

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/notebook/_/page/weekly18100118/jason-sobel-weekly-18

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP)—Nothing was familiar about Geoff Ogilvy’s return to Kapalua except the winner’s lei draped around his neck.

Ogilvy was playing a new brand of equipment, with conforming new grooves in his wedges. Instead of a family vacation on Maui, his wife stayed home in the final month of her pregnancy. The superstitious stubble from last year gave way to a clean shave. The biggest change of all was the scorecoard—instead of a comfortable lead, Ogilvy had to rally.