Ping's Statement on Eye 2 Wedges May Lead to 'Workable Solution'

By Jennifer Gardner
GPA Equipment Editor

Some Ping-Eye2 wedges are legal for PGA Tour play despite having square grooves, thanks to a settlement between Ping and the USGA nearly 20 years ago.

A statement issued Monday by Ping Chairman and CEO John Solheim may leave the door open to a possible agreement between the company and the PGA Tour regarding the use of Ping Eye 2 wedges manufactured before April 1, 1990. The wedges are legal for tour play - even though other U-grooves are considered non-conforming by the USGA - because they were grandfathered in as part of the settlement in a 1993 lawsuit between Ping and the Tour.

Several PGA Tour players, including Phil Mickelson and John Daly, have put the old wedges in their bags after wedges with similar grooves were declared non-conforming for play as of Jan. 1, 2010. The PGA Tour has confirmed that the pre-1990 Ping Eye 2 wedges are permitted for play.

However, controversy over the wedges has erupted on Tour and in the golf community, most dramatically with Scott McCarron's comments that Mickelson's use of such a club was "cheating." Later, McCarron clarified that he did not mean to imply that Mickelson was a cheater, while the PGA Tour released a statement condemning "public comments or criticisms characterizing their use as a violation of the Rules of Golf...."

In his statement, Solheim drew attention to the fact that he predicted the controversy more than two years ago.

"We reminded them of their agreement relative to the Ping Eye 2 irons. At the time, I was vehemently against any new groove rule for a variety of reasons and advised both the USGA and PGA Tour in a letter dated July 31, 2007, that what is happening on the PGA Tour today was very much a possibility," Solheim said in the statement.

Solheim said that while Ping would be in the right to insist that the PGA Tour stand by the rules of the agreement made almost two decades ago, he left the door open for some negotiation.

"While I fully expect the PGA Tour to honor this agreement, I'm willing to discuss a workable solution to this matter that would benefit the game and respect the role innovation has played over the long history of golf," he said.

Read Solheim's full statement »