It Would Have Been Easier for the USGA to Regulate the Ball

Adam Barr is reporting that several equipment manufacturers are lobbying the PGA Tour to delay its adoption of the new groove regulations set forth by the USGA.

According to a Titleist official, the company is trying to persuade the Tour to hold off on its plans to adopt a condition of competition that would require new groove cross-sections for all clubs with lofts of 25 degrees or more.

I would bet a lot of this has to do with the impact on wedges.  Players on Twitter, including Ian Poulter and Stu Cink, have complained over the service that spin on wedges is drastically reduced with the new grooves.  I can imagine the complaints from players that have experimented with the new clubs are highly motivating the manufacturers.

Titleist is asking the Tour to push the rule implementation date back a year because of the intricacies of fitting players under the new groove rules.  But sources close to the situation have said that the refitting process will be much more complicated than switching out some "old" wedges for new ones. It has been suggested that the performance of wedges with new grooves might even require swing changes, which could lead to the use of a different ball model and, in turn, encourage a driver switch. In other words, the ripple effect of the groove rule could be felt throughout the entire bag. That has some manufacturers and players thinking they need more time to experiment and adjust than the post-season stretch usually reserved for incorporating such new equipment.

Wait a second.  You mean that players might actually have to try to hit the fairway with a softer ball?  So, if we just regulated the golf ball in the first place then none of this would be happening?  Well, that's going to be an email to the USGA.

Make everyone hit one of these and our problems would be solved.

Adam gets where my line of logic is going with this.

The irony for students of the modern game is palpable. Within living memory, the game has moved from the high-spin balls of the Nicklaus-Trevino-Watson era, where shotmaking was more prized, to very low-spinning orbs that rocket off the driver but are harder to shape from left to right or right to left. Will the new direction be a retracing of golf ball development’s recent steps, or a new path altogether?

Again, why didn't we just roll back the ball?  I know that the USGA has sad that they don't blame the golf ball for the distance increases as much as improved shafts, clubheads, and other components.  Still, if they made every pro play with what is essentially a Rock-Flite, could this whole thing have been avoided?