"The resulting litigation and subsequent out-of-court settlement in 1990 had a far greater impact on the game than any performance enhancement offered by grooves."

Adam Schupak saw Frank Hannigan's Voices item in the May 23, 2011 issue of Golf World (not online) in which the former USGA Executive Director comments on the recent New York Times story about the Polara ball. John Strege recently reminded us of the settlement the USGA paid, but as Schupak notes based on his study of Hannigan's oral history stored in the USGA Museum, that $1.4 million also permanently changed the way the USGA regulates equipment.

The resulting litigation and subsequent out-of-court settlement in 1990 had a far greater impact on the game than any performance enhancement offered by grooves. Ever since Ping forced the USGA to accept its terms, the ruling body’s willingness to use its power to legislate equipment design has been compromised, said former PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman. The specter of another potential lawsuit has opened the floodgates to a technological revolution in clubs and balls, he said. He added: “They made a choice to protect its treasury instead of the game.”