Golf Tips from the Pro

There is a lot of interest and concern these days about spin, roll, and direction. One of the ways golf club manufacturers improve club head control of ball spin is to mill or score the grooves. The USGA ensures club conformity within the club industry and has set manufacturing limits of 0.020 inch and no wider then 0.035 inch, and the flat area between grooves must be at least three times the groove width or 0.075 inch, whichever is smaller. Acceptable groove designs are V or U shaped. The sides of the V groove intersect at the bottom of the groove, and the U shaped grooves can have rounded corners or sharp corners at the bottom of channel. U Shaped grooves typically contain one stepped cut on one side of the groove wall. When the ball is struck by the club face the ball flattens under compressive forces which impart back spin. Back spin controls the trajectory, distance and influences the forward roll of the ball on landing. Most of the back spin is controlled by the loft of the club at impact. When are clean grooves most important? During a shot hit from rough or under wet conditions, the grooves channel these factors away from the club face assisting in a cleaner strike. Clean these grooves, and you'll hit better golf shots.