Cwing Rory’s old driver would be non confirming
Normal wear and tear do not make a club non conforming.
What? Carbon face drivers suffering metal fatigue ….
I have never owned a TaylorMade club, I noticed that the people
I normally play golf with can not hit their TaylorMade stuff very well at all.
Luc_Van_Daele They were testing and Rory did not want to get called out. He was the one that made the choice to take it out of play, without testing it.
And yes, a club can become non-conforming due to normal play. Esp. at 115+ SS for a driver.
Luc_Van_Daele for the average golfer, true. For guys at 115+, it absolutely can. I have caved several driver faces and gave up completely on composite crown drivers back in the early 2000’s because they broke too. In LD, drivers go through a “break in” period, where you need to hit it about 100-150 times to get to optimal performance, then you get extra hot faces right before they break.
With a guy hitting hundreds of drives a day at 120MPH, I have no doubt that face has more rebound than it did new. If it was a hand selected head at the limits off the line, I bet Rory is right, it’s not going to pass. I have a DB455 I bet wouldn’t pass, that thing is hotttt, it’s hit a couple thousand balls at 115-125mph, it’s a miracle it hasn’t given up… and I bought it used. Once it cracks it’s game over, but fatigued metal has more rebound until it does.
pellmell Just like twist face, carbon face is just a gimmick.
I've only had one TM driver with Twist face (an M5) but I thought the twist face actually worked. I've never hit a driver straighter (or shorter) than that M5. I mean I hit some horrible shots that I immediately looked way right off into the woods onlt to see the ball land just off the fairway on the right.
For me the last good driver TM came out with were the Aeroburner models…Still the best for my swing speed and ungainly lunge at the ball…Haven’t found any that will force it out of the bag…Wouldn’t even look at a $600 driver, I’m a cheap geezer… I have 2 Aeroburner Blacks and 1 Aeroburner White with the Aeroburner geezer flex shafts…
I was the first one on my block to own these when they came out (1+3+5) with stiff steel. (1983)
Used my brand new credit card to buy them too, and then I started down the road of do it it myself, so never bought another OEM wood again.
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Par4QC And yes, a club can become non-conforming due to normal play.
DC300 for the average golfer, true. For guys at 115+, it absolutely can.
Not questioning this, but the equipment rules state equipment needs to pass the tests new from factory. So Rory might be right that if submitted an old driver it wouldn't pass, only there is no need whatsoever to resubmit.
IIRC - the PGA tour tests randomly on the field. Unless they suspect a bad apple....
In softball and baseball it's common knowledge that you can "break in" composite bats. They get hotter and hotter and hotter and then... Shatter. Especially the case for big hitters.
I'd bet that it's the same with a carbon face club. As the epoxy and fibers break down due to impact, they'll become more and more flexible, increasing CT/COR... Until they break!
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Rule 4.1.a Clubs Allowed in Making a Stroke
(1) Conforming Clubs. In making a stroke, a player must use a club that
conforms to the requirements in the Equipment Rules:
• A club used to make a stroke must conform not only when the club is
new, but also when it has been deliberately or accidentally changed in
any way.
• But if the performance characteristics of a conforming club change
because of wear through normal use, it is still a conforming club
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Should have read the small print
When a used club is pendulum tested (see Part 2 Section 4c(i)) in the
field and a result in excess of 257 μs is attained, the specific club will
be deemed to be damaged into a non-conforming state, based on the
presumption that it conformed when new and was included on the List of
Conforming Driver Heads.
For reference the limit for new driver heads is 239 μs with a 18 μs tollerance.
- Edited
My main point was the ignorance of the GC talking heads talking about “metal fatigue” on a carbon faced driver when Rory’s previous driver in question was the first gen Stealth.
Yep. I think the PGA Tour has their own 'Local Rule' on this also. Devil's in the details. 
but here's a hot take on such vague wording:
is using a club that you know that, with respect to its manufactured quality is broken ( or in process of breaking)
"normal use" . It seems like to me that if I had million(s) riding on a single given shot and the club could fail with much higher probability than normal on a given shot, I would take it out of play. Hell, I'd take it out of play just because I wouldn't want to ruin a round if I had a greens fee greater than $100 riding on it. LOL.
Rory should really start keeping his mouth shut...complaining at Bay Hill...Maybe he needs to practice and focus on his game instead of blaming equipment like a 20 handicap? What people need to know, and cry baby doesn't mention ( or maybe doesn't realize) is that clubs are deemed non conforming for many reasons. And it doesn't always make the club better of worse. Things from Hotter faces to caved in faces to sitickers on the clubhead ALL make the club non conforming.
If Rory has been hitting the same driver head for a year of so, the constant pounding at that speed could make ANY clubface non conforming. Its up to the USGA to test them. For him to blame his playin that... shooter move.