SEVERIANO BALLESTEROS OFFICIAL WEBSITE



	APPENDIX II. Any design in a club or ball which is not covered by Rules 4 and 5 and Appendices II and III,or which might significantly change the nature of the game,will be ruled on by the Royal and Ancient Golf club of St.Andrews. The dimensions contained in Appendices II and III are referenced in imperial measurements. A metric conversion is also referenced for information,calculated using a conversion rate of 1 inch =25.4 mm. In the event of any dispute over the conformity of a club or ball,the imperial measurement shall take precedenc Design of Clubs A player in doubt as to the conformity of a club should consult the Royal and Ancient Golf club of St.Andrews. A man facturer should submit to the Royal and Ancient Golf club of St.Andrews a sample of a club which is to be man factured for a ruling as to whether the club conforms with the Rules. If a man facturer fails to submit a sample before man facturing and/or marketing the club,the man facturer assumes the risk of a ruling that the club does not conform with the Rules. Any sample submitted to the Royal and Ancient Golf club of St.Andrews will become its property for reference purposes. The following paragraphs prescribe general regulations for the design of clubs,together with specifications and interpretations. Where a club,or part of a club,is required to have some specific property,this means that it must be designed and man factured with the intention of having that property. The finished club or part m st have that property within man facturing tolerances appropriate to the material use 1.Clubs General A club is an implement designed to be used for striking the ball and generally comes in three forms:woods,irons and putters distinguished by shape and intended us A putter is a club with a loft not exceeding ten degrees designed primarily for use on the putting green. The club shall not be substantially different from the traditional and customary form and mak The club shall be composed of a shaft and a hea All parts of the club shall be fixed so that the club is one unit,and it shall have no external attachments except as otherwise permitted by the Rules . Adjustability Woods and irons shall not be designed to be adjustable except for weight.Putters may be designed to be adjustable for weight and some other forms of adjustability are also permitte All methods of adjustment permitted by the Rules require that: (i)the adjustment cannot be readily made; (ii)all adjustable parts are firmly fixed and there is no reasonable likelihood of them working loose during a round;and (iii)all configurations of adjustment conform with the Rules. The disqualification penalty for purposely changing the playing characteristics of a club during a stipulated round (Rule 4-2a)applies to all clubs including a putter. Length The overall length of the club shall be at least 18 inches (457.2 mm)measured from the top of the grip along the axis of the shaft or a straight line extension of it to the sole of the clu Alignment When the club is in its normal address position the shaft shall be so aligned that: (i)the projection of the straight part of the shaft on to the vertical plane through the toe and heel shall diverge from the vertical by at least ten degrees. (ii)the projection of the straight part of the shaft on to the vertical plane along the intended line of play shall not diverge from the vertical by more than 20 degrees Except for putters,all of the heel portion of the club shall lie within 0.625 inches (15.88 mm)of the plane containing the axis of the straight part of the shaft and the intended (horizontal)line of play. 2.Shaft Straightness The shaft shall be straight from the top of the grip to a point not more than 5 inches (127mm)above the sole, measured from the point where the shaft ceases to be straight along the axis of the bent part of the shaft and the neck and/or socket. Bending and Twisting Properties At any point along its length,the shaft shall: (i)bend in such a way that the deflection is the same regardless of how the shaft is rotated about its longitudinal axis;and (ii)twist the same amount in both directions. Attachment to Clubhead The shaft shall be attached to the clubhead at the heel either directly or through a single plain neck and/or socket.The length from the top of the neck and/or socket to the sole of the club shall not exceed 5 inches (127mm), measured along the axis of,and following any bend in,the neck and/or socket. Exception for Putters:The shaft or neck or socket of a putter may be fixed at any point in the hea 3.Grip The grip consists of material added to the shaft to enable the player to obtain a firm hol The grip shall be straight and plain in form,shall extend to the end of the shaft and shall not be moulded for any part of the hands.If no material is added,that portion of the shaft designed to be held by the player shall be considered the grip. (i)For clubs other than putters the grip must be circular in cross-section,except that a continuous,straight, slightly raised riby may be incorporated along the full length of the grip,and a slightly indented spiral is permitted on a wrapped grip or a replica of on (ii)A putter grip may have a non-circular cross-section, provided the cross-section has no concavity,is symmetrical and remains generally similar throughout the length of the grip. (iii)The grip may be tapered but must not have any bulge or waist.Its cross-sectional dimensions measured in any direction m st not exceed 1.75 inches (44.45 mm). (iv)For clubs other than putters the axis of the grip must coincide with the axis of the shaft. (v)A putter may have two grips provided each is circular in cross-section,the axis of each coincides with the axis of the shaft,and they are separated by at least 1.5 inches (38.1 mm). 4.Clubhead Plain in Shape The clubhead shall be generally plain in shap e.All parts shall be rigid,structural in nature and functional.It is not practicable to define plain in shape precisely and comprehensively but features which are deemed to be in breach of this requirement and are therefore not permitted include: (i)holes through the head, (ii)transparent material added for other than decorative or structural purposes, (iii)appendages to the main body of the head such as knobs,plates,rods or fins, for the purpose of meeting dimensional specifications,for aiming or for any other purpos Exceptions may be made for putters. Any furrows in or runners on the sole shall not extend into the fac Dimensions The distance from the heel to the toe of the clubhead shall be greater than the distance from the face to the back. These dimensions are measured,with the clubhead in its normal address position,on horizontal lines between vertical projections of the outermost points of (i)the heel and the toe and (ii)the face and the back If the outermost point of the heel is not clearly defined,it is deemed to be 0.625 inches (15.88 mm) above the horizontal plane on which the club is resting in its normal address position Striking Faces The clubhead shall only have one striking face,except that a putter may have two such faces if their characteristics are the same,and they are opposite each other. 5.club Face General The material and construction of,or any treatment to,the face or clubhead shall not have the effect at impact of a spring (test on file),or impart significantly more spin to the ball than a standard steel face,or have any other effect which would unduly influence the movement of the ball. The face of the club shall be hard and rigid (some exceptions may be made for putters)and,except for such markings listed below,shall be smooth and shall not have any degree of concavity. Impact Area Roughness and Material Except for markings specified in the following paragraphs, the surface roughness within the area where impact is intended (the “impact area ”)m st not exceed that of decorative sandblasting, or of fine milling The whole of the impact area m st be of the same material.Exceptions may be made for wooden clubs. Impact Area Markings Markings in the impact area m st not have sharp edges or raised lips as determined by a finger test.Grooves or punch marks in the impact area m st meet the following specifications: (i)Grooves.A series of straight grooves with diverging sides and a symmetrical cross-section may be sed (see Fig.IX).The width and cross-section m st be consistent across the face of the club and along the length of the grooves.Any rounding of groove edges shall be in the form of a radius which does not exceed 0.020 inches (0.508 mm).The width of the grooves shall not exceed 0.035 inches (0.9mm),using the 30 degree method of measurement on file with the Royal and Ancient Golf club of St.Andrews.The distance between edges of adjacent grooves m st not be less than three times the width of a groove,and not less than 0.075 inches (1.905 mm).The depth of a groove must not exceed 0.020 inches (0.508 mm) (ii)Punch Marks.Punch marks may be use The area of any such mark must not exceed 0.0044 square inches (2.84 sq.mm).A mark m st not be closer to an adjacent mark than 0.168 inches (4.27 mm)measured from centre to centr The depth of a punch mark must not exceed 0.040 inches (1.02 mm).If punch marks are used in combination with grooves,a punch mark must not be closer to a groove than 0.168 inches (4.27 mm), measured from centre to centr Decorative Markings The centre of the impact area may be indicated by a design within the boundary of a square whose sides are 0.375 inches (9.53 mm)in length.Such a design must not unduly influence the movement of the ball.Decorative markings are permitted outside the impact are Non-metallic club Face Markings The above specifications apply to clubs on which the impact area of the face is of metal or a material of similar hardness.They do not apply to clubs with faces made of other materials and whose loft angle is 24 degrees oRuless, but markings which could unduly influence the movement of the ball are prohibite Clubs with this type of face and a loft angle exceeding 24 degrees may have grooves of maxim m width 0.040 inches (1.02 mm)and maxim depth 1 1 /2 times the groove width,but must otherwise conform to the markings specifications abov Putter Face The specifications above with regard to roughness,material and markings in the impact area do not apply to putters.