Stewart Cink is Preparing for the Groove Change, You won't guess how Options

[ava08]

Ran fast through the thread, cuz I'm limited on time, but does anyone remeber the gooveless wedge from cubic balance? Also the same company that had the groovelss driver face before taht became somewhat popular.

[Pepperturbo]

Yep, and a few Champion tour guys played that driver for a while.

[wfrogge1]

Pros that hit a high ball will not be impacted by this change. Its the mid/low traj hitters that really back the ball up that will have an issue.

[jwfgolfpro]

another aspect is this: it may help shorter hitters twofold. Not only will there be a premium on accuracy (which is a trait many of the short hitters on tour have), but the shorter hitters may also get an advantage from the rough--they will now be able to play for a flier. Today's irons and grooves take a flier out of the equation for the most part. The shorter guys that have had trouble the past few years getting on the green from the rough at 200+ will now be able to reach the greens thanks to fliers.

I hadn't thought of this until a couple days ago when I was talking to the head tour fitter for one of the major manufacturers. He said that he loves the new grooves with his irons. He's a 5 handicap, but is no long hitter of the ball. Currently, he says he has real trouble getting the ball on the green from anywhere over 180, but with the new grooves, he's able to take a 6 or 7 iron and play for a big flier.

Uh you can't really plan for a flier, they just happen

and the distance they go isn't measurable in a way that would be beneficial

and even the shortest guy on tour doesn't have an issue from hitting a green from 200+ yards

Being from the era of fliers.......if you are good at it you can identify when a ball is going to fly and adjust for it. That being said there is no way to really tell how much it will fly...a lot of guessing but you can definitely make an educated guess.

JMHO

JWF

[netos3]

Yes, and he won with them

[Obsessotron]

There will be a difference in the way guys play their short game, I agree that the "bump and run" will come in to play quite a bit more. I am not sure how much it will affect scores overall though because bump and run is a higher percentage shot vs. a flop shot which can turn into a nightmare for a variety of reasons.

[Pepperturbo]

Bump and run is used on the Champions tour and by Euros far more then the PGA or Nationwide, mostly has to do with hands not as steady as they once were, and Euros face links conditions which allow B&R on to heavily undulated greens.

I don't believe "V" grooves will influence more B&R shots, especially on the regular tour and nationwide. There is one predominate area of concern, short iron shots from the rough. There's no way if someone finds himself in the junk he's going to be thinking B&R. And if he finds himself on the apron or fairway it's easy to effectively use "V" groove wedges, I do it regularly. The user just has to factor in a bit more run out and know depending on green speed, there's less spin back.

[donzo]

Uh you can't really plan for a flier, they just happen

and the distance they go isn't measurable in a way that would be beneficial

and even the shortest guy on tour doesn't have an issue from hitting a green from 200+ yards

Uh, yes you can junior. If you don't know how to plan for a flier, get used to blowing the ball over the green from light-medum rough.

You can plan for a flier, but if you mishit and get more or less grass between the ball and the clubface than you think, the results can be disastrous at a course like Augusta.

[stevelee]

While these new grooves will make a significant change when hitting wedge shots out of the rough, it really will be hardly noticeable when hitting from the fairway. The hopes in changing the grooves is that those players who constantly hit the ball as far as they can and still spin it to tucked pins from the rough (i.e. Phil Mickleson) will have to adjust and either play for position more or deal with the consequences. But from the fairway there will be no noticeable change in spin.