![Shot of the Truth: Non-Conforming Drivers at the Open Championship [VIDEO]](https://uploads.mygolfspy.com/uploads/2019/07/sottthumb_12x8-300x200.jpg)
![Shot of the Truth: Non-Conforming Drivers at the Open Championship [VIDEO]](https://uploads.mygolfspy.com/uploads/2019/07/sottthumb_12x8-768x512.jpg)
On this week’s Shot of the Truth segment of No Putts Given, we discuss recent non-conforming driver debacle at the Open Championship. Who’s really to blame, and what can be done to prevent such fiascoes in the future?
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5 years ago
Its no big deal, this isn’t going to translate to anything of worth on the course.
the amount of variables in a golf swing which dictate how far a ball goes are insane, sure, if hit by a robot, then the non conforming driver will go a bit further, but in the real world, its nothing, we’re talking a couple of yards at best, that’s the equiv of 100-200 rpm, a slight change in wind direction.
Golf is somewhat of a randomised game, everytime you play, the conditions are different and those condition can make or break you.
Pretending someone is cheating because they have a slightly hotter face, is like calling someone a cheat for playing a premium golf ball over someone who isn’t.
Its nothing. I shot my best round of golf lately with a pinnacle golf ball.
5 years ago
I think 30 drivers were tested and 4 non-conforming. That’s a 13% fail rate. That is unacceptable and a good step down the road towards cheating.
Tolerance is quite generous at 7.5% Sure support the manufactures to get it right – but fines should start to come in as well. In part any fines can help fund better test regimes.
5 years ago
So 1. Maybe they should test a random selection of drivers before each round. That would enable the testing to be done on clubs that are basically assured to be the clubs in play, and would also prevent penalties for playing the club that day, although in later rounds I guess there’s still a problem of whether it’s already been in play. Also, they could develop some kind of marking system to show which clubs have been tested. Let’s be real, a small mark on the sole of a club won’t affect any play or even the player’s visual.
2. The real problem in this situation isn’t the method of testing. Given he was not penalized for the club, the only problem here (specifically in this case) is that the idea of cheating is being spoken at all. They found the club to be non-conforming, the club was removed, and the tournament went on.
3. I think it’s probably important to more specifically distinguish the practical difference between the stated COR and the tolerance limit (239 vs 257) rather than the tolerance limit and just beyond. 1 COR point is clearly not making much of a difference but perhaps 18 brings it to light a bit more, that even the difference within the tolerance limit can have a significant impact.
5 years ago
Loving the Goat Hill support Tony!! Working Class, World Class.
5 years ago
How will this affect your driver testing and what does it mean when someone buys a driver head that is Tour spec.? Is that driver head built to the limit?
5 years ago
Having some experience in the golf industry, The last statement said “if the CT is close to 239, then none of this would have happened” is correct. The player, R&A, and USGA are not to blame. Manufacturers have the ability to CT test, document, and keep records of the Tour Player’s Driver to ensure that all drivers are near this 239 limit. To prevent any data discretion, a calibration protocol can be implemented so that all testing methods read the same measurement. Same issue occurred with Wedge grooves. All the manufacturers have to follow a method (this too has tolerances) to measure the grooves to confirm that they conform to the USGA/R&A guidelines.
Titleist ProV1 Golf Balls
Bagger
5 years ago
I am so over the COR/CT hotface issue… materials have limits. Persimmon/cycolac had a rebound limit and so does every form of alloy. So if the face is not assisted with a spring or mechanism why shouldn’t it be legal. Just stop
In MLB there is no issue with bats causing distance issues; only for the parts of the sport that allow alloys (e.g. cor limits).
If you want to limit distance just require persimmon and balata wounds… BUT god forbid we set courses up to punish inaccurate distance…