Build your own clubs

[VVega]

Can someone point me in the direction of what the rules are about building your own clubs. Say I make a putter (seems easy enough ) - can I use it in competitions (at club level)?

 

[chico]

Can someone point me in the direction of what the rules are about building your own clubs. Say I make a putter (seems easy enough ) - can I use it in competitions (at club level)?

I think you would have to send it to The R & A for approval, hardly seems worth it.

 

[Steven Rules]

The Equipment Rules would be a good starting place.

Equipment Rules

The main objective of the Equipment Rules is to ensure that technological advances are in the best interests of the game of golf.

www.randa.org

 

[VVega]

The Equipment Rules would be a good starting place.

Equipment Rules

The main objective of the Equipment Rules is to ensure that technological advances are in the best interests of the game of golf.

www.randa.org

That’s great for the actual club design to ensure it’s conforming. However, it doesn’t describe (as far as I can see) if one needs to go through some conformance testing process or if self-declaration is sufficient.

 

[Steven Rules]

Did the first paragraph of the Preamble not help steer you in the right direction? I don't think you'll get any more definitive advice than that on this forum. Your best course of action would be to follow the guidance in the aforementioned Preamble and consult the R&A.

 

[Crow]

Did the first paragraph of the Preamble not help steer you in the right direction? I don't think you'll get any more definitive advice than that on this forum. Your best course of action would be to follow the guidance in the aforementioned Preamble and consult the R&A.

Get outta here, as long as you keep within the guidelines given in the rules then you need have no doubts about your putter and, therefore, no need to consult the R&A or anyone else.

In any event, if the R&A are happy to approve LAB putters and all the rest of those super-stable offerings that even a complete novice could keep square to the line, then in my eyes have no place to pass judgement on any putters.

 

[VVega]

Did the first paragraph of the Preamble not help steer you in the right direction? I don't think you'll get any more definitive advice than that on this forum. Your best course of action would be to follow the guidance in the aforementioned Preamble and consult the R&A.

All it says that if the player is unsure whether the equipment is conforming they should consult the R&A… Meaning I can play whatever I believe is conforming?

 

[Ye Olde Boomer]

If the USGA and R&A cared about the recreational players who provide the reason for their existence,
they would not manipulate the equipment rules based on the performance of elite touring competitors
but rather on the needs of the majority playing recreational golf.

The groove rule change of about fifteen years ago was a perfect example.
Aggressive box grooves could spin popularly priced Surlyn covered balls.
The new grooves that were mandated can spin sixty dollar a dozen urethane covered balls
but not twenty-five dollars a dozen, durable Surlyn covered balls.

As for a homemade putter, I would think, although I'm not sure,
that the burden of proof would be on the R&A to prove that it didn't conform to their rules.

 

[rulie]

As for a homemade putter, I would think, although I'm not sure,
that the burden of proof would be on the R&A to prove that it didn't conform to their rules.

It is up to the player to use conforming clubs. If the player is uncertain, he can ask the Committee in charge of the competition.

 

[backwoodsman]

Hmm.

The rules say that a manufacturer should submit a sample to R&A/USGA for approval as to conformity - that is, there's no compulsion to do so. But also say that if the manufacturer doesn’t, they run the risk of the club being ruled non-conforming. And also say that if a player (and presumably a Committee) has any doubt about a club, then they should consult the R&A/USGA about it's conformity.

I have no doubt that, if asked about a particular club, the R&A/USGA will rule a club non-conforming if it's not been tested by them. But if an individual makes an individual club for recreational (ie non-elite) use, fully intending, and fully believing, it to be conforming to the rules then what is the likelihood of the R&A/USGA ever being asked in the first place? And if it meets all the rules/guidelines ..... ????

 

[Backache]

I very much doubt that a lot of historic clubs such as hickory ones have ever been submitted to the R&A for testing yet they are probably used in hickory competitions and suchlike.
I have a friend who is a low single figure handicap and plays with a very old hickory shafted putter that has almost certainly never been tested. Not quite sure why a DIY putter would be a problem unless you were to make it so you could anchor your grip.

 

[rulie]

I very much doubt that a lot of historic clubs such as hickory ones have ever been submitted to the R&A for testing yet they are probably used in hickory competitions and suchlike.
I have a friend who is a low single figure handicap and plays with a very old hickory shafted putter that has almost certainly never been tested. Not quite sure why a DIY putter would be a problem unless you were to make it so you could anchor your grip.

The Equipment Rules, in detail, outline the requirements for a putter to be conforming. If it meets those requirements, it's very likely to be conforming.

 

[rulie]

I very much doubt that a lot of historic clubs such as hickory ones have ever been submitted to the R&A for testing yet they are probably used in hickory competitions and suchlike.
I have a friend who is a low single figure handicap and plays with a very old hickory shafted putter that has almost certainly never been tested. Not quite sure why a DIY putter would be a problem unless you were to make it so you could anchor your grip.

One thing further - "anchoring your grip" is not part of the Equipment Rules, but is part of the Rules of golf, and could be breached with any conforming putter - it's the way the conforming club is used, not the club's design.