"No spinning the numbers: Grooves rollback a minor factor so far"
/You may recall that earlier this week Frank Hannigan wrote about the impact of the groove rule change so far. Now Steve Elling takes a close look at the early numbers from ShotLink.
The obvious conclusion is that there has been too much rain to date for an impact to have been felt, but I do think it's of interest that players aren't suggesting that they've radically changed the way they approach a course.
But the bomb-and-gouge mindset off the tee still seems deeply ingrained.
In an admittedly non-scientific, casual poll of a dozen players or so, none said they had altered the way they have played off the tee -- for the moment, anyway. Several pointed out that the philosophy could change as the tour plays drier courses in the spring and summer.
"I've just been playing my game, and obviously trying to hit more fairways, but I haven't really changed too much," said the winner in Phoenix, Hunter Mahan, offering a sentiment echoed by several other top players.