Hi All

Played with a gentleman today that was hitting the ball miles from the tee. I usually give the ball a good smack myself however I could not understand the distance he was hitting it taking into consideration his physical condition and his technique. This roused my attention.... He was using a Callaway ERC II Driver. I was under the understanding that these particular drivers are non conforming. I did mention to the man that I hadn't seen and ERC II in years and that he was getting great distance from it, and that I thought the ERC II was non conforming. The man told me that he had checked the list and his driver was not on it. Can anyone advise:

1) Is the driver in question conforming? , and

2) What approach should I take to ensure he does not use this club again in competition play? ( without appearing to be a troublemaker or 'tell tale'.)

It is indeed a non-conforming driver. If it was simply a friendly round of golf with no loot on the line, or using that round to establish a handicap, let it be. Or, next time you hook up, casually mention that you had confirmed through a search that it was not conforming....and see what comes back.

If it's played during a sanctioned competition, then by all means mention it to him, give him an opportunity to switch. If he doesn't, alert an official.

P.S. Having hit that driver way back when, it isn't the most forgiving driver out there, to say the least. He must be putting some kind of decent strike on it to get the results you say he is.

I agree with the first reply. The driver is on the none conforming list. However, I owned one when they came out and for me it gained me maybe ten to fifteen yards off the tee. Hardly something to really worry about in a casual round. It sounds like your partner has a very good swing to begin with and I doubt he is gaining much from that club but there is little doubt he is getting some extra yardage from it.

1) Yes, it is non-conforming because of COR not size. Maybe the guy looked at the wrong list?

2) There is no way you can ensure he doesn't use it without appearing to be a troublemaker. If it really bothers you and you care that much about your golf then tell a club official and deal with the flack that comes with that decision. The ERC II is 335cc so IMO the COR benefit is going to be significantly offset be the improvements in size and weight distribution of 'newer' technology. Put simply the guy may just be a great driver of the golf ball despite your opinion of his physical condition and technique.

If a player is using a non-conforming club in competition, then it's your responsibility to protect the field by notifying an official.

Conforming or non-conforming, there will not be a dramatic distance in distance. It's just a matter of hundreths and thousanths.....very, very small numbers which equal miniscule difference in performance. That particular driver just happened to punch out a few hundreths or whatever over the COR limit. No big deal if it's casual golf.

Handicap round or tourney??? NO GO, that would be considered cheating.

Why cry foul.Sounds like it bothered you he was driving farther then you and you think that driver is the reason.My friend uses an hs9 that is on the list and he hits my L4V farther.I geuss next yr it will be the grooves bothering you..I concern myself with my game not others.Sounds like my friend who always has an excuse for someone's good play or his poor play.

The sheer fact you're concerned about him out driving you and whether his equipment is conforming or not when the integrity of tournament play is not at question, you could easily be interpreted as crossing a boundary without reason, especially if you're telling him what he likely already knows.

I've been playing over twenty years and NEVER concerned myself with another's equipment, even during regulation tournament OR a money game. I leave that to those responsible for insuring all equipment conforms in a tournament, otherwise it's out of my hands.

If someone beats me or out drives me and knowingly is cheating in some fashion that's their character or lack there of at work. I concern myself with my behavior and game, that's all I can control. If conditions have me purposely taking my time to insure another's following the rules, then I've lost not only my focus, but my integrity has faded at the cost of policing the behavior of others.

Are ALL ERC II drivers non-conforming? I was looking at the non-conforming list, and both drivers listed look different than the model for sale on the callaway preowned website.

Here are the 2 shown on the non-conforming list (ERCII Pro and ERC II Forged Titanium)
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment


And Here is the one for sale on callawaygolfpreowned.com
Click to view attachment

The top one and the one from callawaygolfpreowned are the same club. The graphics orientation is due to one being a RH club and the other a LH

Personally i wouldnt care less if he was using a non confirming driver, you do realize that is going to give him about 2-3 yards more than a curently conforming one, all others being equal? Jealousy can be harsh!

Sounds like you are more concerned with the distance surprise than with the rules violation.

Talk to him and put emphasis on the rules of the game. I had a buddy like that, in Asia we switched to .83 cor on january1, 2008. It took me 4 moths of consistently but gently reminding him every other week. I just made sure to tell him a well-fitted conforming driver will perform just as good as his current non-conforming driver that he wasn't fit for.