Finchem stands pat on square groove change

PGA Tour players should start looking more like average amateurs when hitting out of the rough again next year, rather than spinning balls back 10 feet out of the spinach. PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem announced Tuesday that Tour players will, as planned, begin using smaller-groove irons and wedges beginning Jan. 1, despite recent calls to delay implementing the new rule for one year. The PGA Tour 's Policy Board was expected to vote on the matter, but it unexpectedly deferred the decision to Finchem. Some players and equipment companies had increasingly complained that they need more time to switch to the new grooves.
Meeting the established timetable may pose some challenges, but at this point in the game, it will be unfair to change policy at this late juncture. Several companies have already altered their manufacturing plans in anticipation of the change, and they should be rewarded rather than punished. It's a PGA Tour decision, and amateurs can still take advantage of square-grooved clubs in tournaments.