USGA to Adopt Groove Condition for all USGA Amateur Championships Beginning in 2014

The United States Golf Association (USGA) today confirmed January 1, 2014 as the date for implementing the Condition of Competition for all USGA amateur championships and qualifying events that limits players to clubs manufactured with grooves and/or punch marks that conform to all aspects of the Rules of Golf, including those that were made effective on January 1, 2010. This Condition of Competition reads as follows:

"The player's clubs must conform to the groove and punch mark specifications in the Rules of Golf that are effective from January 1, 2010.”

Details of the condition are described in Decision 4-1/1 in the Decisions on the Rules of Golf. Additionally, while this Condition of Competition may be adopted more widely in 2014 (e.g., at the highest level of amateur golf), it is recommended only for competitions involving expert players.

In anticipation of the January 1, 2014 timetable for implementing the Condition of Competition for expert amateur players, the USGA has extended the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, and U.S. Senior Open Championship Player Club Testing program to all players competing in USGA amateur championships and qualifying events, as well as amateurs competing in events where the condition of competition has been adopted. For program details, players should visit https://www.usga.org/equipment/testing/InviteForOpenClubTesting/

To determine if a club or set of clubs conforms to the new specifications, players should first search the Informational Club Database (Grooves) which is available on the Equipment page at www.usga.org.

Additional questions may be directed to the USGA Rules of Golf Department at 908-234-2300 or via email at rules@usga.org.