I want to buy a set of these but I don't know if they are approved by
the USGA(I play in tournaments).  I know there was a debate about
"square grooves."  I am looking for documentation on what sets (if
any) are approve for play and how to tell them apart from "un approved
sets."

Hello bjb,

Thank you for your question. 

I remember this controversy, but don't recall the result. So I was
interested to see what I could find for you.


http://www.clubmaker-online.com/dt.squaregroove.html

"THE GREAT SQUARE GROOVE CONTROVERSY 

Dave Tutelman

Copyright  July 1998 - all rights reserved

There have been some postings recently indicating that there are still
some folks (including, sad to say, some club pros) that believe that
square grooves are illegal. The truth is:

They aren't. 
They never were. 
There was a specific technical issue over Ping Eye 2 clubs made
between 1985 and 1989. The issue was never square grooves per se, but
whether the grooves on this club were .005" too closely spaced.
(Folks, that's less than the thickness of a human hair.) Those clubs
have been grandfathered, so there are no major clubs that I know
(neither pro-line manufacturers nor the well-known component
manufacturers) that have a problem with the legality of their
grooves..."

Interesting article and worth reading. It goes into great factual
detail and concludes:

"CONCLUSION:  
So here are the somewhat more detailed answers to the question: "Are
square grooves legal?"

They have been legal since 1981. 
 
A few square-groove clubs (Ping Eye 2 made between 1985 and 1989) were
illegal, but have been grandfathered and may be played legally today.

Even those clubs were not illegal because of their square grooves, but
because of a technicality due to measurement after the edges of the
grooves were rounded.

Square grooves were briefly banned from the PGA tour, due solely to a
PGA rule that had nothing to do with the legality of the clubs
themselves.

Depending on which study you believe, square grooves provide no
competitive advantage, or they provide slightly higher spin rates from
the rough. ..."


http://www.equip2golf.com/history/hist_ping_eye2.html

A great history of Ping including:

1982-1984 Original. The first Eye2 iron. Made from 1982-1984. This
patent pending design featured "V" grooves.

1984-1985  U Groove. The second Eye2 iron featuring "U" grooves. The
result of the 1984 USGA ruling allowing square grooves. Made from the
middle of 1984 to the fall of 1985. US Patent D276644. Other patents
pending.

1984-1985 EZ Lite. A version of the "U Groove" featuring a lighter
swingweight, the result of a slightly smaller head. The shaft featured
an "EZ-Lite" band. Made from the middle of 1984 to the fall of 1985.

1985-1990 Square Groove. Design is identical to the "U Groove" with
the only change occurring in the grooves. The change involved
modifying the groove by creating a slight radius at the top of the
groove. This new model is referred to as the "Square Groove". This
change reduced the amount of surface area between the groove but did
not change the distance between the inside edges of the grooves. Made
from the fall of 1985 to the spring of 1990. US Patents D4512577 and
D276644.

1986 Eye2 Beryllium Copper. Patent pending design identical to the
stainless steel "Square Groove" but made from Beryllium Copper.

1987 Eye2 Beryllium Copper. Patented design identical to the "Square
Groove" design but made from Beryllium Copper. US Patents D4512577 and
D276644.





Search Strategy:

"square groove" +golf +usga

I trust my research has provided you with your answer. If a link above
should fail to work or anything require further explanation or
research, please do post a Request for Clarification prior to rating
the answer and closing the question and I will be pleased to assist
further.

Regards,

-=clouseau=-

---

Request for Answer Clarification by bjb-ga on 18 Mar 2003 08:05 PST

So there is not problem using them at any level of competetion?
What does the Eye2+ mean then?

---

Clarification of Answer by clouseau-ga on 18 Mar 2003 08:57 PST

Well, even the USGA page notes:

http://www.usga.org/history/timeline/1984.html

1989

The PGA Tour announces it will ban square-groove irons next year, but
Karsten Manufacturing wins a court injunction against the move. Four
years later, in an out-of-court settlement, the Tour reverses itself
and permits square grooves.

There isn't a lot of information on the Internet on the Eye2+. Vic's
World has a comparison chart of Eye2 and Eye2+ lofts and also notes:

http://www.vicsgolfworld.com/ping/Products_Classics_irons.html

The EYE2, first introduced in 1982, soon became the most sought after
iron in the game among professionals and amateurs alike. It was
designed with a slightly larger head size than the earlier EYE iron to
provide more forgiveness. The EYE2 was the primary PING iron for nine
years, and during that time underwent dozens of design improvements.
Much of the engineering was carried forward to later models.

Even the Karsten site has no information on the Eye2+ clubs. 

So, I think we have well covered the legality of square grooves and
from all information available, they are legal at any level of play,
or perhaps better stated, are not illegal because of having square
grooves.

If you have additional questions about the Eye2+ clubs, you might wish
to post that as a separate question and note exactly the information
you desire.

Regards,

-=clouseau=-

Great answer - just what I was looking for.