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Daly and Wilson using Pings from '80s

interlooper

interlooper

Wishing I was golfing now
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John Daly has been using wedges at the Sony Open that have square grooves, even though the USGA essentially requires V-shaped grooves.

Long and behold... his wedges are legal, too.

Daly said he was using Ping wedges that he's had since 1986, which he hasn't used on TOUR in nearly 20 years. Dean Wilson also pulled from his garage a Ping lob wedge he said was made sometime in the 1980s.

A USGA official says those Ping wedges, which were made around 1990, can still be used because they were allowed under a settlement when Ping sued the governing body.
 
Keep in mind that the grooves may be square, but they are not milled grooves and that changed the spin structure a ton according to both Bob Vokey and John Hoeflich (who was the 1st person that started milling grooves in wedges).
 
interlooper said:
John Daly has been using wedges at the Sony Open that have square grooves, even though the USGA essentially requires V-shaped grooves.

Long and behold... his wedges are legal, too.

Daly said he was using Ping wedges that he's had since 1986, which he hasn't used on TOUR in nearly 20 years. Dean Wilson also pulled from his garage a Ping lob wedge he said was made sometime in the 1980s.

A USGA official says those Ping wedges, which were made around 1990, can still be used because they were allowed under a settlement when Ping sued the governing body.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the Eye 2 irons that were grandfathered in.
 
HONOLULU (AP) -- John Daly used a set of wedges Thursday at the Sony Open in Hawaii that have square grooves, even though a new USGA regulation this year requires more of a V-shaped groove.

And those wedges are considered legal.

Daly is using Ping-Eye 2 wedges -- pitching wedge, sand wedge and lob wedge -- that he first used at the 1986 U.S. Open when he was a sophomore in college. He stopped using them shortly after winning the 1991 PGA Championship when he signed with a different company.

Dean Wilson also is using a Ping-Eye 2 wedge that he found in his garage. He's had it since sometime in the 1980s.

Even in this new era of grooves, the old Ping wedges remain legal because of a lawsuit Ping filed against the USGA over square grooves that was settled in 1990. Under the settlement, any Ping-Eye 2 made before April 1, 1990, remains approved under the Rules of Golf.

"That settlement still takes precedence" over the new regulation, said Dick Rugge, the USGA's senior technical director.

But that's the catch.

If a player wanted the type of wedge Ping made before April 1990, the Phoenix-based company can't reproduce them. If players find them -- either on the market or in the garage -- Ping can repair shafts or alter the lie or loft, just like any other club.

Still in question is whether clubs that are 20 years old can still be as sharp as grooves from current models. Players often change irons at least every two years, more often with wedges. Pat Perez said he used to change his wedges every four months.

"I might change them every two months with the new ones," he said.

Daly stopped by Ping headquarters on his way to Hawaii and surprised company officials by the number of old wedges he had found. He says he has eight or nine sets -- some he kept over the years, others sent to him by friends.

Even so, he is asking Ping for a set of V-shaped grooves that he might use at Torrey Pines.

"A golf course like San Diego, you want V grooves in your wedges because the greens are so soft," he said. "Here, you want square grooves. I'll probably go through the year switching a lot."

Asked how much spin he could get from a wedge he first used a quarter-century ago, Daly said, "These are still in great shape."

Whenever Daly gets a new Ping-Eye 2 wedge, he calls the company and reads them the serial number. Ping has a catalog of its wedges and can confirm if the wedges were manufactured prior to April 1990.

"Ping said the ones I have are all good to go," Daly said. "I think a lot of guys are going to switch. I know a lot of guys are buying them off eBay."

Daly said he first tried his old wedges when he played in Australia last month.

However, he most likely won't be able to use them at the British Open or anywhere else outside the United States or Mexico because the USGA settlement would not apply.


http://www.pgatour.com/2010/tournaments/r006/01/14/wedges.ap/index.html
 
rolleyes.gif


By all means JD, try using a loophole in the equipment rules to gain an unfair advantage since you can't manage to compete and are, apparently, unwilling to work for your results. Boooooooo JD. Booooo.

Yet another reason I won't root for you ever again.
 
How is it an unfair advantage when everyone in an USGA sanctioned event has an opportunity to use those old-school pings? I am sure there are hundreds available on E-bay.

That is like blaming someone for going to their sponsor's touring van for trying to get the most out of their clubs while still adhering to USGA regulations.

I don't consider myself a Daly fan, or Wilson fan for that matter, but this doesn't strike me as an "unfair" advantage.
 
I thought it was genius that Dean and JD thought to do this. Apparently they aren't the only 2 either according to JD.
 
It did not help much on Day 1.

+3 sitting at T102.
 
interlooper said:
I am sure there are hundreds available on E-bay.
Click to expand...

And they just increased in value once everyone finds out the pros are trying to buy them up.
 
I think I know where a set of those old Pings are. Digging them out is another thing. I never knew their wedges were legal. Interesting. Of course last I saw ol' JD was sitting at +3 so maybe they are not the savior he might think. Other talk say they are so far behind present, new technology, their grooves are of little value today. Nothing wrong with the pros using them, as like they say they are legal.

Now what if Ping were to re-introduce these wedges from a marketing stand point? Manufactured to exact specs of the old model. Would the new version be legal?
 
provisional said:
Now what if Ping were to re-introduce these wedges from a marketing stand point? Manufactured to exact specs of the old model. Would the new version be legal?
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No......
 
Harry Longshanks said:
rolleyes.gif


By all means JD, try using a loophole in the equipment rules to gain an unfair advantage since you can't manage to compete and are, apparently, unwilling to work for your results. Boooooooo JD. Booooo.

Yet another reason I won't root for you ever again.
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I'm not in agreement with what they are doing but if there's a loophole in the process then why not use it? It''s not the best analogy but if there's a loophole in say the tax laws that could benefit us, we'd be dumb not to inquire about it, if not try to benefit from it.
 
Nice to know my Ping Eye-2's, boxed away in my closet, are maybe increasing in value in 2010. And to think I have the PW, SW, and LW in my set.

I always thought Daly made a huge mistake leaving Ping for the $$$ at Wilson after he hit the big time.
 
interlooper said:
How is it an unfair advantage when everyone in an USGA sanctioned event has an opportunity to use those old-school pings?
Click to expand...

thanks1974 said:
I'm not in agreement with what they are doing but if there's a loophole in the process then why not use it?
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I wasn't saying that it IS an unfair advantage. I said that he was TRYING to gain an unfair advantage.

That is, (almost) everyone else on tour is/will be learning to deal with the new regulations by playing wedges/irons that conform to the new groove regulations. But Mr. Shortcut chooses not to work on his game, but just switch to grandfathered equipment.

Never said it wasn't legal. Just typical of JD.
 
The irony in this thread is amusing.
 
Re: Daly and Wilson using Pings from '80s

But Mr. Shortcut chooses not to work on his game, but just switch to grandfathered equipment.
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Harry.....Really? I see he's not quite off to the start he wanted but the man seems to be strides ahead of the gutter he was in.

I'd love to see him pull his game together. But that's just me.
 
snicker.doodles said:
Harry.....Really? I see he's not quite off to the start he wanted but the man seems to be strides ahead of the gutter he was in.
Click to expand...

But that would not take much right? :confused2:
 
It's not an unfair advantage, foremost, because anyone who wants to use them, can use them, legally. They are available to everyone. Claiming they give those who use them an advantage, and calling their use unfair, while choosing to not use them yourself (for whatever reason, spirit of the law, comfort with club, etc), seems rather fallacious. Aside: Ernie looks like he has a golf ball protruding from his chin.
 
snicker.doodles said:
Harry.....Really? I see he's not quite off to the start he wanted but the man seems to be strides ahead of the gutter he was in.

I'd love to see him pull his game together. But that's just me.
Click to expand...

Really.

Too many excuses. Too much blaming others. Zero personal responsibility.

What makes you think he is strides ahead? Because he got a lapband (another shortcut in his case IMO) and lost weight? Because he hasn't been arrested or hauled from a bar or crashed his RV into a tunnel in a few months? Sorry, I need to see positive steps, not just lack of negative ones.
 
I spoke with somebody at Ping about this because I had a question in regards to other tours. Ping's clubs are available for use in USGA events. However they cannot be used on events governed by other bodies.
 
I don't think Wilson is worried about not using them in the Open Championship; but I suppose that could be a concern for him if Daly got a little too comfortable with them.
 
If the works and it's legal per USGA then more power to anyone who chooses to play them. Since he didnt make the cut I wonder if he will make a change.
 
Interesting twist to the equipment battle on the tour. I don't see the top players doing this but I could see the ranked 100-150 tinkering with this idea. I would think equipment companies that pay players big money would want the players using their new equipment for sales reasons.
 
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