SST Pure

At a time of startling turnabouts and drastic changes within the U.S. Golf Association -- golfshaking, if not earthshaking -- another landmark rules reversal has come down, this one with the potential to make a huge impact on the golf manufacturing sector.

On Feb. 3 in Clearwater, Fla., Dick Weiss went to the mountain. That is, he went to before the USGA's Implements and Ball Committee.

So powerful is the I & B Committee that it, in effect, determines which clubs and balls are legal (final decisions are made by the USGA Executive Committee, but all members of the I & B Committee are also members of the Executive Committee).

Weiss, a golf professional and operator of a club repair shop at Miami (Fla.) National Golf Club, was appealing a USGA decision about spines in golf shafts. The holder of a patent for identifying and rotating these spines, Weiss was stymied by a USGA ruling from Nov. 13, 1990: "The USGA believes that if there is a need to identify the location of a spine in a shaft it is of sufficient consequence to violate the rule (4-1b)."

To bolster his case, Weiss took one attorney and a battery of shafts and testing machines. His appearance had something of the atmosphere of an argument before the Supreme Court.

So swift was the reply that Weiss was stunned. On Feb. 9, Frank Thomas, USGA technical director, composed a letter to Weiss. It said, in part, "The (I & B) Committee has asked me to inform you that a club or set of clubs which has been assembled or reassembled by you, or by your licensees ... would confirm with Rule 4-1b."

"I'm thrilled," said the overwhelmed Weiss. Wow! What this means, in essence, is that Weiss now controls one of the most persuasive selling points in contemporary equipment. Club manufacturers, shaft manufacturers and custom clubmakers could find themselves scrambling to make licensing deals with Weiss.

Though it is a misleading temptation to claim that a driver can slice a ball by itself, there might be, depending on the predominance of the spine, some truth to this notion.

Weiss contends that all shafts -- even computer-controlled filament-wound graphite shafts and extruded seamless metal shafts -- have irregularities created during manufacturing that require shaft orientation for optimal performance.

Most metal shafts (True Temper and Rifle, for example) contain a weld seam. Graphite shafts, mostly as the result of sanding, can be terribly asymmetrical.

It's easy to observe the spine effect in shafts. In a frequency measurement, with the grip end of the shaft clamped in a vise, clubs often begin "circling" rather than bobbing up and down. The same is true, only more so, when an attempt is made to create a more forceful side-to-side motion with a clamped club.

Speaking of shaft frequencies, I think the Weiss patent could be as important to golf as the development by Dr. Joe Braly and his son, Kim, of the frequency-matching system (now controlled by Royal Precision). Frequency matching quickly became the cornerstone for fitting an entire set of clubs to the idiosyncrasies of individual players.

Under the language of his patent, Weiss searches for a "neutral" position (the generally accepted 'neutral position' is achieved...with respect to the direction of club movement").

"Clubs that are haphazardly assembled do mis-hit shots," Weiss said. "The shafts make movements that are so erratic, they can't possibly repeat themselves."

Though it is a misleading temptation to claim that a driver can slice a ball by itself, there might be, depending on the predominance of the spine, some truth to this notion.

At last summer's U.S. Open, I sat with Thomas, who outlined his biggest concern: "What we could easily end up with is somebody saying, 'Let's straighten out your game by putting it (the shaft) this way. That would be a manipulation of the rules."

Although Weiss' patent covers the repositioning of the spine to produce draws or fades, Weiss has promised the USGA he will not do this. All his licensees must make the same promise -- to rotate shafts only to the neutral position.

Several spine-locating machines are available on the market, but they can do little better than identify a particular quadrant (90 degrees). Weiss says he can pinpoint the spine position within 1 degree.

To do this to an existing club, it is necessary to remove a shaft from its clubhead (the grip must come off as well). Once the spine is located, the club is reassembled.

Rule 4-1b deals with the twisting and bending properties of shafts, so what the USGA is affirming, finally, is that the Weiss patent allows a shaft to perform as it was designed. Nothing more, nothing less.