Check your gear! These clubs will be nonconforming on January 1

With so much discussion around the proposed rule change to the golf ball, many golfers have forgotten about another rule announcement made over a decade ago that is finally coming to fruition as of January 1, 2024, involving groove conformity for clubs that predate 2010 — meaning you could be carrying some illegal clubs.

As a refresher, the 2010 groove rule, which it is informally referred to, initially went into effect on January 1, 2010, and was adopted as a Condition of Competition — now called the Model Local Rule G-2, for the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour, along with the men’s, women’s, and seniors’ U.S. Opens, and all qualifying stages for these events.

Then on January 1, 2014, model local rule G-2 became effective at all USGA championship events, but left all recreational golfers alone for another decade. This rule dictates the radius and volume of golf club groves and applies to any irons, wedges, hybrids, and even fairway woods with lofts of 25 degrees or more.

Now as the calendar turns over to January 1, 2024, the 2010 groove rule will go into effect for all golfers wishing to keep a proper handicap and potentially play in club competitions that use USGA/R&A guidelines.

Titleist Vokey SM9 Raw Custom Wedge

$225

For every shot, every lie, every course, there’s a grind fit for your swing. Finding the right grind to match your swing and playing conditions will give you the best turf interaction, contact and shot performance. Master Craftsman Bob Vokey has spent decades crafting, developing and improving his tour proven grinds to fit players of all levels.
Anyone can manufacture a wedge, but it takes a master to turn a piece of high-performance technology into an instrument of creative control. Bob’s six tour-proven grinds are designed to offer maximum creativity, versatility and consistency, all meticulously developed through years of working with the best players in the world.
PROGRESSIVE CENTER OF GRAVITY
SM9 features a progressive center of gravity (CG) throughout the lofts, which optimizes ball flight, accuracy and forgiveness. Using tapered top lines and varied hosel lengths, the Vokey R&D team has raised the height of the CG in the higher lofts, which promotes a lower, more controlled flight.
The CG is also forward of the face, resulting in increased MOI, exceptional feel and a club face that simply wants to square up at impact.
SPIN MILLED GROOVES
SM9’s patented Spin Milled grooves are meticulously engineered through a new cutting process to maximize spin and durability. The process starts by cutting the face perfectly flat with a high-speed saw. Then every groove is individually cut based on loft and finish; low lofts (46°-54°) are designed with narrower, deeper grooves, while higher lofts (56°-62°) have wider, shallower grooves.
Micro-grooves are individually cut in between grooves, which maximize spin on partial shots. A proprietary heat treatment is applied to the impact area which doubles the durability of the groove without impacting feel, making it the most durable groove in golf. The process is only complete when every Vokey wedge is 100% inspected for utmost quality and performance.

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What does this mean?

If we are being blunt, for most golfers who don’t keep a handicap and only play recreationally, this is more water under the proverbial bridge of silly golf rules that don’t apply to them, like stroke and distance for out-of-bounds, a one-ball rule, and gimmes inside of 2 feet.

As for golfers who take the game a bit more seriously and hope that their playing partners do too: If you are using any clubs that predate 2010 — especially wedges — there is a really good chance you’ve already lost a lot of performance, and it’s probably worth an upgrade anyway. But even if that is the case, there is a chance that a competitor could have you disqualified for using a non-conforming club.

So, if you happen to have some rules sticklers at your club or in your regular foursome when playing for a few bucks, you can check your grooves here with the help of the USGA golf club database to make sure that when you tee it up in 2024, you’re playing by the rules fair and square.

Want to overhaul your bag for 2024? Find a fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

Golf.com Editor

Ryan Barath is GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com’s senior editor for equipment. He has an extensive club-fitting and -building background with more than 20 years of experience working with golfers of all skill levels, including PGA Tour players. Before joining the staff, he was the lead content strategist for Tour Experience Golf, in Toronto, Canada.