The new grooves don't seem to be working.

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mgranato

mgranato

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At least not for the USGA.

A study of the stats taken from the first 13 events in 2010 compared to the same events on the same courses in 2009 show that the new grooves don't seem to be having the impact the USGA was looking for. Guess these guys really are good. :)

pgatourchart.jpg




Full story can be found here.
 
mjstrong

mjstrong

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Well, define "working." I think they were looking to change the style of play, not necessarily affect the scoring average. It looks like they're hitting it slightly shorter and slightly more accurate off the tee, and then a little closer to the hole with the wedges. If they were looking to encourage that style of play, maybe they've done that.

Also, it is tough to quantify the changes in course setup. Perhaps the pins are slightly more accessible than the past years' with the other groove. It's interesting data (especially the scrambling , but tough to disect accurately.
 
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savydan

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Leaning with mj here M. I don't think they expected an overnight change.

You're right about being good; they could adapt to about anything. Perhaps more are employing a little better strategy as well.
 
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mgranato

mgranato

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Exercising a bit of sarcasm with the title. ;)

It seems players might be more conservative off the tee with either line or club, and that more players have opted for softer, spinier balls. Maybe the latter explains the shorter drives and improved scrambling. Or it could just be immense talent.
 
mjstrong

mjstrong

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mgranato said:
Exercising a bit of sarcasm with the title. ;)

It seems players might be more conservative off the tee with either line or club, and that more players have opted for softer, spinier balls. Maybe the latter explains the shorter drives and improved scrambling. Or it could just be immense talent.
Click to expand...

Hehe. :) Gotcha.

I think you're right about the spinier ball usage. I haven't been watching the coverage much, are they ever showing the Trackman numbers for these guys? Are they having driver spin rates of 3500+ rpm's?
 
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