Sorry, but that's not true. The law concerning grooves changed in 2010 (for USA) and 2015 (Europe). The vast majority of clubs manufactured after 2010 will have the smaller V shaped grooves; most of the ones before that will also have the V shaped grooves. For those that still have U shaped grooves, the depth of the blade on the sharpener has been tapered to prevent deepening of the groove, when used properly. Provided you don't use the tool to completely gouge your grooves, you'll be absolutely fine.
Any part of the club that has been purposely altered is regarded as new and must, in its altered state, conform with the Rules. This means that the only thing that you can do to grooves without them being considered to have been deliberately altered is to clean them using methods which do not remove any metal from the face. Regrooving, by its very definition, does remove metal and would be considered to be a deliberate alteration. This does not mean that the club is now automatically non-conforming, but it does mean that its conformance status is now undetermined. The only way that the conformance status of a club which has been altered can be confirmed is to send it to the R&A for evaluation. This is an extract from an E-mail i received from the R & A about this subject. Sorry but it is true!!
Your first comment said 'that makes your clubs illegal so you'll have to buy new clubs' ... your second comment said 'this does not mean that the club is now automatically non-conforming, but it does mean that it's conformance status is now undetermined'. What the R&A are saying is that the conformance is undetermined. What you were saying is that your clubs would be illegal and that you'd need to buy new ones.
Can you tell me the brand of your sharpener?
It's manufactured in China and sold by TickTockGolf on Amazon UK - bit.ly/GolfGrooveSharpener
That makes your clubs illegal so you'll have to buy new clubs anyway.
Sorry, but that's not true. The law concerning grooves changed in 2010 (for USA) and 2015 (Europe). The vast majority of clubs manufactured after 2010 will have the smaller V shaped grooves; most of the ones before that will also have the V shaped grooves. For those that still have U shaped grooves, the depth of the blade on the sharpener has been tapered to prevent deepening of the groove, when used properly. Provided you don't use the tool to completely gouge your grooves, you'll be absolutely fine.
Any part of the club that has been purposely altered is regarded as new and must, in its altered state, conform with the Rules. This means that the only thing that you can do to grooves without them being considered to have been deliberately altered is to clean them using methods which do not remove any metal from the face. Regrooving, by its very definition, does remove metal and would be considered to be a deliberate alteration. This does not mean that the club is now automatically non-conforming, but it does mean that its conformance status is now undetermined. The only way that the conformance status of a club which has been altered can be confirmed is to send it to the R&A for evaluation.
This is an extract from an E-mail i received from the R & A about this subject.
Sorry but it is true!!
Your first comment said 'that makes your clubs illegal so you'll have to buy new clubs' ... your second comment said 'this does not mean that the club is now automatically non-conforming, but it does mean that it's conformance status is now undetermined'. What the R&A are saying is that the conformance is undetermined. What you were saying is that your clubs would be illegal and that you'd need to buy new ones.
Until such time as you have submitted your altered clubs to the R&A for evaluation, you can't use them, so what's the difference?
Well, the difference is that in one scenario you have to buy new clubs, and in the other you don't.