Senior Classic: New clubs bring out watchful eyes of the USGA

An industry-wide recession hasn't stopped them, nor has a threat from the United States Golf Association.

Club manufacturers were in all their glory earlier this winter at the annual PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, showing off dozens of new products with the idea that rabid golfers will snap up anything that will improve their games.

Among the hot items were new drivers by industry heavyweights Callaway, Orlimar and Adams.

Callaway is replacing its popular line of Big Bertha titanium woods with the Big Bertha Hawkeye woods. Orlimar and Adams, which have dueled with shallow-faced fairway woods, have added drivers to their arsenal.

And the USGA, which just last summer appeared poised to put a dent in all this new technology, has given its blessing to the new designs.

But that doesn't mean golf's governing body in the United States has backed off from its commitment to limit equipment. The issue is heated, and appears to have been confined to titanium drivers where there is a "springlike" or trampoline effect on the face.

"We're concerned about the distance the greatest players in the game are able to hit a golf ball these days," said Morgan "Buzz" Taylor, president of the USGA. "There's no question that the titanium, large-faced drivers, or at least some of them, are having an impact on distance. We're not so concerned with the clubs on the market today. But we've learned ... that there are materials around the corner that were likely to make it possible for significantly greater distances to be achieved. We felt that was not right. It has very little to do with skill or ability, but had everything to do with technology."

At the USGA's annual meeting a year ago Taylor got the golf industry's attention by saying that today's players, coupled with high-tech equipment, could threaten some of the game's historic venues.

Under Rule 4-1e, which deals with the club face, "The face of the club shall be hard and rigid and shall be smooth and shall not have any degree of concavity."

Before the USGA could decide on clubs that might not conform, the organization thought it needed to clarify the rule.

"It was a principle," said David Fay, executive director of the USGA. "Now we are putting some definition to it."

All of which makes the golf industry a bit nervous.

"They've drawn a new line in the sand," said Ely Callaway, the 79-year-old chairman and CEO of Callaway Golf Co. "They're really talking about restricting the driver. Distance off the tee is what they seem concerned with. We don't think more than 250 professional golfers in the world are a threat, if they are at all, to the integrity of the game or golf courses.

"The rest of us, 40-million, as far as we can see ... there is no good reason to keep people from driving the ball farther."

The average drive on the PGA Tour increased from 260 yards to 269 yards in the past five years, according to the National Golf Foundation. Yet, scoring has not significantly improved. David Duval's 59 in January was just the third in PGA history. And the major championship record of 63, which has been matched several times, was set in 1973 by Johnny Miller at the U.S. Open.

Why is this such a controversial subject, if only a couple hundred players could truly be affected?

Because the club-buying public likes to play the same woods and irons as the pros. And if those clubs are outlawed, the public probably won't want them.

But Callaway argues that the pros use different clubs. "They don't have the same lofts, and generally the shafts are different. It's really not the same club. They play with the same brand."

One thing is clear: the debate will continue.

"Any top manufacturer wants to improve the chances of a golfer to hit the ball better," said six-time major championship winner Nick Faldo, who represents Adams Golf. "We want that in every walk of life, don't we? Everything from medicine to a car. We want it to perform better. So we can't stop.

"But surely, there have to be some restrictions. They do that in motor racing. They say you can only have a 3-liter engine. Then everybody tries to find a way to make that 3-liter engine go faster. That's part of life. That's part of technology. You can't stop that."

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