With Mickleson chopping and changing wedges and Padraig Harrington recently put an old Ping Eye 2 wedge into play, I think I had better throw a little light on this whole thing.
The rule on groove size and edge sharpness will only affect professional golfers until 2024. This means as an amateur, you do not not have to worry about it until then.
Do not start stock piling wedges as manufacturers will force you to buy more by suddenly “stopping” production. This is another blatant attempt to scare you into buying more. Stay calm and just keep playing and replacing your wedges as and when you need to. Trust me they will find another way to help you spin the ball.
Most amateur golfers do not strike the ball pure enough to notice ANY difference even if the grooves were changed. I have a wedge with no grooves (it has a milled flat face) and I can still spin the ball with it as it is all about quality of strike and angle of attack, not necessarily about grooves.
This rule is another ridiculous attempt by the golfing bodies to somehow create a “level” playing field for professional golf and somehow suck the amateur game into this limitation. When normal club golfers should be allowed to have limitless assistance with their game. We play for fun and therefore, all this does is make the game harder and less enjoyable.
This is also another attempt to get you, the consumer to change clubs in order to play and enjoy golf. There is now an expiry date on your wedges and clubs and you will have to change your set by 2024. As a consumer, you should decide when you want to change not some golfing body. I would say these limitations in equipment will become a regular thing and all it does it put a sell by date on your clubs and makes more money for the manufacturers.
I think the Tour should introduce a “match” or tournament ball but with limited distance and spin characteristics that every tournament professional has to play. By limiting the ball, the equipment is less involved and the real skill level can come out.
This is what I would like to see, golfers at their very best, where all the technology and assistance is reserved for the amateur game (where it is needed most) to allow more people to play golf and enjoy themselves.
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