USGA, Ping officials hopeful for wedges solution after meeting

text size

FAR HILLS, N.J. -- Officials from the USGA and PING met Tuesday in Dallas to discuss the use of Ping Eye2 clubs on the PGA TOUR.

"We met with representatives from Ping yesterday," USGA President Jim Hyler said in a statement released Wednesday. "Our conversation with Ping regarding the status of the Ping Eye2 irons on the major professional American tours was productive, and we are hopeful that a solution can be found that respects and reflects the best interests of golfers and the game."

Ping chairman and CEO John Solheim added in a statement: "We had a productive meeting with the USGA yesterday regarding the Ping Eye2 groove debate on the PGA TOUR. I'm encouraged by their willingness to openly discuss some of the challenges the golf industry faces relating to equipment issues. We left the meeting with an understanding we would continue to seek a solution that benefits golfers and acknowledges the importance innovation plays in the game."

The Ping wedge has grooves that no longer conform under a new U.S. Golf Association regulation, adopted by the PGA TOUR. However, any Ping wedge made before April 1, 1990, is approved for play under a legal settlement from two decades ago.

Several players believe using the club goes against the spirit of the new grooves regulation, although Scott McCarron fueled the debate when he said of Phil Mickelson and others who used the club, "It's cheating."

McCarron later apologized to Mickelson for his comments, with Mickelson opting to take the club out of his bag, although he threatened to use it again. "If these governing bodies cannot get together to fix this loophole, if players stop using this wedge -- which would stop the pressure of the issue -- then I will relook at it and put the wedge back in play," Mickelson said prior to last week's Northern Trust Open.

PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem met with players last week and conceded that TOUR officials did not realize a Ping wedge from 20 years ago would become such a big issue.

Finchem said the Ping Eye2 wedge produces spin at about 60 percent of the rate from last year's wedges, but about 10 percent more than wedges approved for competition this year.

"The assumption was made last year that very few, if any, players would use that club because they're 20 years old," Finchem said. "I think we underestimated that a little bit."

He said the TOUR could either do nothing and monitor how many players used wedges, an option that seemed unlikely because Finchem said it still raised issues over fairness in competition. Some players are going to eBay to find the clubs, as Ping stopped making them and now only can confirm through serial numbers when the wedges were made.

The other option is to work out an agreement with Ping chairman and CEO John Solheim, which is why those two sides met this week. Said Finchem: "I can only hope progress is made in that regard."

Ping plays the biggest role in any solution because of its lawsuits against the USGA and PGA TOUR over square grooves.

Finchem said the third option involved a complicated process in which the TOUR's independent committee on equipment tries to establish a local rule. He called that a "cumbersome process."

The Associated Press contributed to this report