Mickelson's use of old wedges stirs groove rule debate

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Phil Mickelson is one of the players who has used old-style wedges with new groove rules in place this year.

SAN DIEGO -- This is what Phil Mickelson said. That all the clubs in his bag are approved for play. Including the ones some other players say he should not be using, wedges from Ping which if not older than dirt are old enough to create a controversy.

Mickelson is playing his first tournament of the year. Mickelson is playing in his hometown.

ROUND 2

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Mickelson's scorecard

Mickelson is playing with one particular golf club, the Ping Eye 2 wedge from the late 1980s that, if nothing else, has people talking.

Mickelson also is playing quite well after 36 holes of the Farmers Insurance Open, sitting at 5-under 137 following a 67 Friday on the Torrey Pines North Course, four shots out of the lead.

Phil awoke Friday morning to a storm. Not a meteorological one. The weather along the California coast was still more than acceptable, even though clouds had moved in. This squall was figurative, caused by comments from fellow pro Scott McCarron.

It is hardly a secret the U.S Golf Association and Royal & Ancient Golf Club, the bodies that set the standards, decided to alter the size and depth of grooves in irons, with narrower V-grooves replacing larger U-grooves or square grooves.

The intent was to make shots out of the rough more difficult and therefore place a higher premium on accuracy.

All well and good. Except back in 1993 Ping won a lawsuit against the USGA when it then attempted to force a groove redesign by the manufacturer. Feeling groovy? No way.

No one ever throws away old sneakers or old ancient golf clubs. Phil and John Daly -- who after Friday's round announced he was quitting golf, but that's another story -- grabbed some of those Ping Eye 2s.

That's not surprising in Daly's case. He's a Ping man. Mickelson, however, plays Callaways.

McCarron told the San Francisco Chronicle, "I'm appalled Phil has put (the grandfathered wedge) into play. ... As one of our premier players (Mickelson) should be one if the guys who steps up and says this is wrong.''

In a way, Phil did just that. But what he said was wrong was the rule.

The rule which allows Phil Mickelson and anyone else to employ the old wedges.

"It's a terrible rule,'' Mickelson said after his round. "To change something that has this kind of loophole is nuts. But it's not up to me or any other player to interpret what the rule is, or the spirit of the rule.''

"Leading up to the implementation, we have been aware that under the USGA Rules of Golf, the pre-1990 clubs would be allowed and that there was the potential that some players might choose to use them," the PGA TOUR said in a statement. "We will monitor this situation as we move forward and under our Tournament Regulations, we do have the ability to make a local rule which would not allow the clubs. There's been no decision made at this time."

The spirit of the rule long has been the essence of golf, in effect to do the right thing. Golfers will take any legitimate advantage possible -- you've seen free drops which get somebody out of the deep stuff -- and they're expected to do so.

Yet, golfers pride themselves on playing the game exactly, correctly, calling strokes on themselves even which nobody else sees. That's the spirit of golf.

"I understand black and white,'' said Mickelson. "And I think that myself or any other player is allowed to play those clubs because they're approved. End of story.''

But it's not the end. It's practically the beginning.

"Again,'' said Mickelson, "I think it's a ridiculous rule, but whoever wants to play (the clubs) they're approved. We have two things going on. We have legal and conforming grooves that are approved for play. I have sent in (to the USGA) legal grooves that were not approved. And these grooves in my opinion are, just like Scott said, non-conforming. But they are approved.''

McCarron, who happened to have missed the cut with a 144, stressed what many believe, to wit, "I feel this will not be legal by the end of the year.''

Still, it is now, and the questions keep getting tossed at the pros. With the absence of Tiger Woods, the media is hungry for stories, not content with just describing the 11-under 133s by D.A. Points and Ryuji Imada.

It is what it is,'' Imada explained, forced to talk about the groves before his round of 4-under 68. "The rules are the rules, and if this is allowed by the rules of golf, sure you can use it. But I don't agree with it.''

Neither does Robert Allenby. "I just believe,'' Allenby said, "that even if they are legal, you shouldn't be using them. Just because someone has a couple sitting in the garage of they've got them off eBay or whatever, I don't think that's the integrity of the game. ... Cheating is not the right word to use, but it's definitely an advantage.''

And definitely a mess.

"This whole groove thing,'' said Mickelson, "has turned into a debacle. But if you're going over 65, you're speeding. If you're going under, you're not. It's not our job to interpret rules, it's our job to understand if our club is OK to play with or not.''

And for now, for Phil Mickelson, it is.