John Daly was one of those players. Dean Wilson was another. Nobody much seemed to care. It was an interesting fact, and some players politely said they believed exploiting the Ping Eye 2 loophole was contrary to the spirit of the game. But, really, is Dean Wilson a threat to take your money away? Is John Daly someone you have to worry about finishing ahead of you? Probably not.
But Phil Mickelson? That's another story. Phil doesn't need any help to beat his fellow-competitors. He doesn't need to exploit a loophole in the hope of picking up a stroke somewhere. But exploit that loophole he is.
Mickelson is using one Ping Eye 2 wedge this week at Torrey Pines for the Farmers Insurance Open. And some of his Tour brothers aren't happy about it. Via Devil Ball, the San Francisco Chronicle reported today:
"I think it's cheating," (Scott McCarron) told The Chronicle. "All those guys should be ashamed of themselves for doing that. ... As one of our premier players, (Mickelson) should be one of the guys who steps up and says this is wrong."Rocco Mediate, another tour veteran, echoed his dismay with Mickelson and others for exploiting the loophole.
"I don't like it at all, not one bit," Mediate said. "It's against the spirit of the rule. ... We have to get rid of those clubs, because they're square grooves - what else can you say?"
Such strong language was absent when Daly and Wilson first exploited the Ping Eye 2 loophole a couple weeks ago. When Mickelson does it, he gets ripped. Such is life when you're already much better than most of the competition.
Mickelson addressed the issue in his pre-tournament news conference, saying that while the old Ping Eye 2 wedges do not conform to the new groove rules, they are legal for play because of the loophole. "All that matters is it's OK under the rules of golf," Mickelson said.
What do you think? Are Mickelson, et.al., being clever - and smart - for taking advantage of the loophole, or are they violating the spirit of the game?
Comments
I thought the point of the Rules of Golf applied to everyone equally. Did Phil break a rule? Are McCarron and Mediate allowed use a Ping Eye2? I’m sure they can afford one. They chose not to. Shut up and play.
I think it is a mistake for players to speak out against Phil Mickleson or any other player using the older Ping Eye 2 wedges. They are legal under the rules and so they should leave it alone.
World Golf Emporium
Bravo Phil!! He did his homework and got the run around…as Jim Daly said, these wedges won’t be around for ever, might as well use them!! I do agree, it might be against the spirit of the game, but it’s still not illegal.
‘Spirit of the game’ is a oxymoron when you have a book of rules an inch thick specifically designed to take every element of ’spirit’ out of the game. Good grief man – allow spirit to creep into the game and we’ll never be able to thoroughly enjoy the random hapless fiascos that curse our otherwise credible weekend performances. So, to my mind Messrs Mickelson, Daly and Wilson are far more on message than the moaning numpties who wish they’d thought of the wheeze first. Blah blah blah…
Sure it’s legal but I’ll give you two reasons why it’s not right. #1 – Broad context … since when is legally ‘ok’ the equivalent to the moral or right thing to do? Pick any topic; behavior of politicians, executive remuneration during GFC (including bonuses and termination pay-outs), always have someone stading on the setps of the courthouse or at a WH briefing defending their client saying what they did was legal when we all know their conduct stinks. #2 – narrow context what happens if there’s only a handful ping eye 2s … or in fact only 1. So not all players have access to the club (as opposed to other clubs, balls, which anyone can access assuming they’re willing to pony up the cash). So now it becomes an equity issue as people aren’t competing on a level playing field. (See evolution of swim suits, steriods in MLB, etc, etc, etc). So instead of applauding someone for pushing the rules right to the point before they break call them out for what they are … cheats.
Can’t believe the amount of time spent talking about groove issue. It is all they talk about on Golf Channel last five days. It may not be in the spirit of the game but it is legal under the rules of the PGA tour. To call Mickleson a cheat is a mistake period. He can win tournaments using wedges that Bobby Jones played with in the 1920’s. Everyone needs to get over themselves and play the game. Eventually they will all figure out how to spin the ball with V grooves anyway. Ball manufacturer will figue out ball design that spins just as much with V grooves. Entire idea of changing from the U shaped to V shape grooves by the PGA was idiotic to begin with. Idea being you have to hit more fairways with drives because V shape grooved wedges harder to control what ball does when it hits greens. Half the fun of watching these tournaments is seeing golfers like Mickleson and Woods come out of the rough over trees and land ball back of cup with great spin towards hole. That appeals to all us hacks who dream of making a shot like that. PGA stop wondering why viewership is so down when you institute a rule like this V shape groove making the game more boring.