Padraig Harrington's Tuesday press conference at the Northern Trust Open was a revealing read on a man who has clearly spent significant time deliberating this grooves issue.  Harrington made several, almost-off-the-cuff sounding suggestions for how the Tour could get around the loophole without creating a lawsuit-inciting local rule banning the Ping Eye 2 wedges.

"Legally I don’t know how they can go about it, but maybe the PGA Tour could play under the rules of the R&A (Royal & Ancient), then we’d have no problem.

"Maybe Ping could forego the lawsuit, and then there would be no problem. Or maybe everybody could sign up to a charter and say we won’t use them."

The R&A idea is very interesting, though that would have catastrophic consequences for the USGA - not adopted by the biggest pro tour in its home country.  Harrington likely thought of it since he normally contests tournaments under R&A rules, which didn't settle with Karsten Manufacturing in a way that frat boys might settle a fantasy football dispute.

This charter idea has me most intrigued.  Why can't there be a gentlemen's agreement among the PGA Tour players that the Ping Eye 2s are informally off limits and any player that breaks the agreement will be embarrassed publicly or privately for doing so?

from mondaynightbrewery.com

Oh, I know why.  Scott McCarron officially apologizing for speaking his slanderous mind under the threat of legal action from Phil Mickelson's camp would probably keep a lot of players quiet.  Seeing as though the only way that things apparently get settled in golf is with a lawsuit, maybe the modus operandi should be slandering enemies into submission, or court, whichever comes first.

We know that a PGA Tour local rule banning the Ping Eye 2s is not possible because it would violate their legal settlement with Karsten Manufacturing.  Finchem may well have to consider an abstinence promise while he and the Tour work out a legal reworking with Ping's parent company.  Maybe all of the players can wear an eye patch to signify their support of The Pact.

Then again, based on the player reaction that Geoff Shackelford reported to a player meeting spearheaded by the commissioner, it seems like the PGA Tour's Talk Like A Pirate Day may have to wait.

* Thanks to Court for emailing me with the right word.  I wrote this late at night for posting this morning and my mental thesaurus was clearly braindead.