Oakmont, Pa. — Two-time major champion Zander Schauferle and others are asking the US Golf Association to look into all golfer drivers before the tournament, but USGA CEO Mike Wynn said Wednesday there are no plans to change the way government agencies are doing their tests.
Driver testing became a hot topic at last month’s PGA Championship.
“If we see an astonishing trend in terms of how much they are (acceptable limits), we’ll change the way we approach it,” Whan told the news this week at the Oakmont Country Club, the site for the US Open. “But what we see today is going to be a bigger disruption. The juice is not worth squeezing.”
Whan said the USGA tested its drivers at Oakmont this week, but did not say how many people were considered non-conforming. The test results should be confidential.
USGA tests the driver’s distinctive temporal creep. This is basically the amount of time the ball takes to your face. If the ball is on the driver’s face for more than 257 microseconds, the club is considered too flexible and incompatible.
“Think of a child jumping on a trampoline. The longer they get on the trampoline, the more they bouncing,” Wynn said. “So we set a limit on the manufacturer in terms of how long the ball can stay. There is test and there is tolerance, but at the end of the day, if it’s over (257) microseconds there, the club will remove that club from tolerance.”
The more the driver’s face is used, the more springy it becomes. Schaeffler, who won his third major victory in the PGA Championship, had been using it for over a year, so he knew the driver was approaching a misfit. He was practicing with something new.
According to WHAN, PGA Tour golfer drivers are tested 2-3 times per season. The USGA will test approximately 30 drivers in each tournament.
“I think the tests we’re doing are worth both the extent of the obstacles we’re looking at. “Frankly, when you look at the failures, at least right now, we’re seeing the club literally sneaking up across the line. No drivers are looking at the ‘Oh, my well, look at where I went there.’ ”
At last month’s Memorial Tournament, Schaufere said if he is in charge of testing the driver, “he’ll test everyone and make sure he gets everyone’s serial numbers with the driver.”
“It just depends whether you’re playing with hot things or not,” Schaufele said. “It’s very easy.”
Former US Open winner Lucas Glover suggested on his SiriusXM PGA Tour radio show that some golfers would not provide the USGA with the actual drivers to use in the competition.
“Just as a precaution, they’ll give them a backup,” Glover said. “I know a lot of people. They’ll keep two drivers in their bag just in case.” Hey, oh, yes, that’s it.
Whan told reporters for the Women’s Open in the US “90% of the drivers given us in those practice facilities when they were tested on the first tee.”
“I can tell you as a rule agency. If you have concerns about this incredible benefit, we will change the degree to which we test,” Whan said. “But I think the tests we’re doing now are worth both the size of the question and the real-life scale of the question.”
