Short version of the loophole: Long-ago legal proceedings between Ping and the PGA Tour and Ping and the USGA resulted in Ping Eye 2s made in the late 1980s remaining "legal" for play despite having grooves that otherwise wouldn't conform to today's rules. (For the long version, see this.)
With new groove rules in place on tour this year, new rules that many pros feared would make their wedges less effective, a handful of touring pros have taken advantage of the loophole by using those old Pings in tournament play. John Daly was one of the first; Phil Mickelson was the highest-profile, and Phil's use of the old Pings at the Farmers Insurance Open led to the word "cheating" getting thrown around.
But today, in a news release, Ping announced:
Ping Chairman and CEO John Solheim announced today that Ping will waive its rights that prevent the PGA Tour from prohibiting the use of pre-April 1990 Ping Eye 2 irons and wedges that do not meet the 2010 Condition of Competition from being played at PGA Tour professional competitions.The waiver goes into effect March 29 and applies to the PGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour. As a result of a request from the USGA, Ping will also apply the waiver to the U.S. Open in June. 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.
The waiver by Ping of the rights brokered under that long-ago legal agreement does not apply to USGA-sanctioned amateur tournaments. If you're an amateur, and you've been taking advantage of the loophole to use old Ping Eye 2 wedges, you can keep right on doing so in any tournaments governed by the USGA Rules of Golf.
On the Web:
Agreement Closes Ping Eye 2 Loophole for Pros originally appeared on About.com Golf on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 13:38:04.
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