What a big news day it was in golf today. These are some from my industry news feeds that I thought you would find interesting:

Far Hills, NJ – The United States Golf Association announced today that the much-publicized and much-maligned ruling regarding the grooves on golf clubs would be re-written to remove all the changes affected in 2010 and 2011. All clubs could return to the groove geometry that was allowed prior to January 1, 2010.

“It became obvious to us at the USGA that the changes to the rules regarding grooves on golf clubs had no effect on the PGA Tour professional at all,” announced Dick Rugge. “This ruling increased the manufacturing cost of all golf clubs for the manufacturers, and didn’t change the way these super-strong players attack golf courses. So we’ve changed our mind. Everyone go back to the way things were. We’re taking a mulligan here.”

PGA Tour Headquarters, FL -- The PGA Tour announced today that a number of changes will go into effect immediately regarding equipment and players, the most important being those regarding fitness and trainers.

“The modern PGA Tour player has become too strong and too dependent on his entourage of swing coaches, mental trainers and fitness gurus”, explained Tim Finchem. “Effective immediately, no player shall have any coach or trainer anywhere within 100 miles of a PGA Tour event, and the fitness trailers will no longer be available on site at events. In addition, we are putting into effect a mandatory happy hour after each round, where players will be required to spend at least an hour in the bar visiting with their fellow players, and a two-drink minimum will be strictly enforced.”

Seoul, South Korea – The Korean Golf Union has come forth with some changes to the way women golfers are trained and prepared for play on the LPGA Tour, it was announced today.

“Our players have become too dominant on the professional golf tour, and we don’t think that’s fair,” it was proclaimed by Take Dat, principal at the Korean School of Women’s Golf. “From now on, our ladies cannot start serious training for golf until they are at least 12 years old, and have passed the ‘I’m just a normal little girl’ testing procedures. In addition, golf training will be limited to 2 hours per day, five days a week and the girls must be actively engaged in dating, gossiping with their friends, FaceBook, Twitter, goofing off and spending time at the mall. Attending the prom will be mandatory.”

Carlsbad, CA – The newly formed Equipment Standards Council of the Golf Industry announced the results of its first formal meeting today, and the joint effort of the major golf companies made great strides toward eliminating the confusion surrounding golf equipment.

“We realized that our total avoidance of any standard regarding the nomenclature and specifications of golf clubs was causing great confusion to the golf public,” it was issued in a joint press release under no signatures. “Effective immediately, the following changes will be applied to the manufacture and marketing of golf equipment:

1. All drivers will be limited to 44” in length so that golfers can actually play them.


2. All lofts printed on clubs must be the actual loft the club is built to.


3. Iron lofts and lengths will become standardized, so that one company’s 8-iron can be fairly compared to another’s. 9-irons cannot be less than 44 degrees.


4. All executives, product managers, department heads and golf club assemblers will be forced to pass a playing ability test before they can hold a position with a golf club manufacturer. If you can’t break 90, you can’t work in the industry.


5. No advertising for golf clubs or golf balls will be allowed if it contains claims of more distance or longer than the competition.

In a related story, it was announced today that over 10,000 job openings had become available in the golf industry, ranging from company CEO to assembly line worker.

This Week’s Wedge Winner

I received over 100 entries for this week’s FREE EIDOLON V-SOLE wedge. Thanks guys. We put them all in a hat and pulled Andrew O.’s name. But thank you all for entering and watch your email for a very special offer from EIDOLON as a “Thank You”. In the meantime, we’re running a special contest on our FaceBook page in conjunction with this week’s Shell Houston Open. You can win a FREE set of EIDOLON V-SOLE wedges if you’re the winner.

ENTER NOW on our Facebook page. Don’t forget to “like” EIDOLON Golf when you’re there!

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Terry Koehler is "The Wedge Guy" and President of SCOR Golf- The Short Game Company.

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