Illegal club/grip

[rapper]

I have just cut down a 24degree hybrid by 4 inch to use round the green for chipping,i removed the rubber grip off the 4inch I cut off and put it back on the club so the thick end of the grip was near the club face because I didn't have another grip,so the grip on the club was thicker nearer the club face than at the end of the club.
Today play a club comp after going 8 shots up on the 17th my competitor said the he would have to check if my club was illegal because of the different thickness of the grip...is it illegal because if so I will put him through to the next round...help..................thanks

 

[BTatHome]

Simple enough to check the rules ..... http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Rules-on-Clubs-and-Balls/The-Grip/

... And from memory it would be too short, hence illegal at 4 inches long.

 

[sjw7]

If you added the grip from the 4" you cut off to the shaft below the grip that remained on it then you should be fine as the entire length of the grip needs to be at least 7" long. The bit you may have a problem with is that the grip would have originaly tapered in one direction where now you will have it getting narrower and then fatter again plus it may have a ridge in the middle where the two pieces meet which may be illegal according to the link aboveThe easiest thing would be to get a new grip fitted to be sure. Im not sure if there is a minimum length for a club but i wouldn't have thought so for the kind of change you made.CheersSimon

 

[Oddsocks]

Get it regripped,problem sorted.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Get it regripped,problem sorted.

Bit late if he played the match this afternoon!

 

[TheJezster]

Why the hell would anyone query something like this??? Sounds like a right sore loser you played. It's a club, you cut a bit off, big deal. We're not professionals.

 

[Backsticks]

Why the hell would anyone query something like this??? Sounds like a right sore loser you played. It's a club, you cut a bit off, big deal. We're not professionals.

Because he should be playing with a legal club. Whether professionals or not, if you are playing the game at all, it is not unreasonable to expect people to observe the rules. The OP wasnt, and the opponent is entitled to ask the question. Doubly so when he is correct and the club was indeed illegal.

 

[MashieNiblick]

Looking at appendix II.3 I am struggling to see why the club would be illegal.

 

[Joff]

Why the hell would anyone query something like this??? Sounds like a right sore loser you played. It's a club, you cut a bit off, big deal. We're not professionals.

I kind of agree. But rules are rules etc.

I find it funny how he mentioned it on the 17th...

 

[MizunoGreyhound]

If you added the grip from the 4" you cut off to the shaft below the grip that remained on it then you should be fine as the entire length of the grip needs to be at least 7" long. The bit you may have a problem with is that the grip would have originaly tapered in one direction where now you will have it getting narrower and then fatter again plus it may have a ridge in the middle where the two pieces meet which may be illegal according to the link aboveThe easiest thing would be to get a new grip fitted to be sure. Im not sure if there is a minimum length for a club but i wouldn't have thought so for the kind of change you made.CheersSimon

I may be getting this all wrong, but I have heard that Bubba has 15 layers of tape under the bottom hand section of his grip. This would surely make it at least as wide as the top section? I understand he does this for reasons of keeping his bottom hand out of shots.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

Looking at the link provided above (I'm assuming the UK rules are the same?) then the only possible problem I can see is that it might be considered to be two grips if it's cut into two, and this is not allowed on anything other than putters.

Beyond that, the only requirement is that the grip is circular in cross section (which yours is), not contain a waist or bulge (should be ok if the fattest bit is at the bottom) and isn't of a shape that allows you to put your hands on the club in exactly the same way every time (sounds like that's ok too).

Although it is right that a club's grip needs to be at least 7" long, this doesn't seem to be a reference to the length of the rubber, as it says "If no material is added, that portion of the shaft designed to be held by the player must be considered the grip." So, if a club had no rubbber on it at all, it would still have a "grip" for the purposes of this rule, and then the rules would be applied to the 7" area of the shaft at the end of the club.

[EDIT: having re-read the rules, I can see that the correct argument might be that in the case that material is added, it has to be 7" in length, but if no material is added, then the rules are applied to that part of the shaft. In which case your grip would have to be 7" long, but sounds like it would be anyway].

I think your club sounds fine.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

I may be getting this all wrong, but I have heard that Bubba has 15 layers of tape under the bottom hand section of his grip. This would surely make it at least as wide as the top section? I understand he does this for reasons of keeping his bottom hand out of shots.

Not uncommon apparently, the guy at TM told us that pros often have more tape at the bottom than top or even on one side.

 

[Backsticks]

Beyond that, the only requirement is that the grip is circular in cross section (which yours is), not contain a waist or bulge (should be ok if the fattest bit is at the bottom) and isn't of a shape that allows you to put your hands on the club in exactly the same way every time (sounds like that's ok too).

But it will have a waist or a bulge, unless I misunderstand how the two parts of the grip were joined. The original lower part of the grip is now at the top of the shaft and then tapering down. OK. But if the orignal top of the grip is now below the original lower half, it will be wider. Leaving a step or bulge, or diameter change, and so not a constant taper. i.e it is now two tapers with a discontinuity which is not allowed. Presumably it was conspicuous enough to catch the opponents attention, and not a 'seamless' tapering grip. And so outside the rules.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

But it will have a waist or a bulge, unless I misunderstand how the two parts of the grip were joined. The original lower part of the grip is now at the top of the shaft and then tapering down. OK. But if the orignal top of the grip is now below the original lower half, it will be wider. Leaving a step or bulge, or diameter change, and so not a constant taper. i.e it is now two tapers with a discontinuity which is not allowed. Presumably it was conspicuous enough to catch the opponents attention, and not a 'seamless' tapering grip. And so outside the rules.

I imagined it going the other way, so tapering in and then back out again, with the cut off piece of the grip upside down as compared to how it orginally would have been on the club. In which, case, I think it'd be ok. I agree with you if it's the other way round - that would be two separate grips for a start.

 

[delc]

Looking at appendix II.3 I am struggling to see why the club would be illegal.

Grips must not have any bulges. They must be parallel or slightly tapered and generally circular in cross section for all clubs except putters. The OP needs to know that you cannot fit a putter grip to a chipping club.

 

[MashieNiblick]

Grips must not have any bulges. They must be parallel or slightly tapered and generally circular in cross section for all clubs except putters. The OP needs to know that you cannot fit a putter grip to a chipping club.

Ah yes re-read the OP and see that what he did could/would have created a bulge in the grip. Would agree in that case that the grip might well have fallen foul of the rules.