“Everyone wants to be a pro, so why not act like one?”

Sean Martin looks at how the groove rule change for PGA Tour and major championship play is impacting college golf.

Some coaches, mostly at top-25 programs, would like to see college golf make the new grooves mandatory sooner so that players don’t face that decision.

“We’re not doing these kids any good if we’re all playing with something they can’t play with at the next level,” Georgia head coach Chris Haack said. “I wish we’d (switch), because it’s bad when you put some guys in (that) position.”

An early switch has its difficulties, though. It would be challenging to outfit the approximately 3,000 Division I golfers with new equipment, and switching would place a financial burden on players at programs that do not receive equipment from manufacturers.

“(Switching the grooves early) is great for a small handful of players, but for the majority of kids playing college golf, it’s not applicable and would be extremely expensive,” said Gregg Grost, CEO of the Golf Coaches Association of America.

I loved this...

Georgia freshman Bryden MacPherson, an Australian who joined the team at midseason, switched to the new grooves in December.

“Everyone wants to be a pro, so why not act like one?” he said. “I’m going to have to change eventually. Plus, I think it’ll make (me) a better player.”

Now why can't more PGA Tour members have that attitude?