Press Release

For Immediate Release January 19, 2016

The Western Golf Alliance bans the use of really ugly golf equipment

Preeminent golf organization supports the spirit of the USGA, R&A rulings

LAS VEGAS In a move consistent with the United States Golf Association and the R&A Company officially outlawing anchored putters, the Western Golf Alliance today banned the use of any golf equipment that "makes the golfer look like an idiot who doesn’t know how to play this beautiful game." The Western Golf Alliance made this announcement during its annual winter meeting at the Caesar's Palace Resort and Casino.

"When the USGA and R&A took thousands of hours to evaluate a single type of golf stroke over the past few years, we knew they were onto something," said Brian Gray, WGA president. "Clearly the point was this: if the use of certain equipment makes the golfer look like a mamby pamby wimp, it shouldn’t be used. We are all-in supporting the spirit of that policy."

As most people know, the rulemaking bodies agreed to a rule to ban "anchoring the club", a move that effectively bans certain putters on the PGA Tour beginning this year. In their 40 page document required to explain the 20 word rule, and their further 7 page document that is required just to explain how to implement the rule, the USGA and R&A state that the goal of the rule is not the result of statistical analysis about a specific type of shot, but "rather, in evaluating whether a particular act or technique of play should be subject to penalty under the Rules, the focus is on whether such act or technique is inconsistent with the essential nature of golf." For many amateur golfers not directly involved in the process, this explanation clearly states the following: The real issue is about pros not looking like idiots on television.

In unified support of the spirit of USGA and the R&A objective, the new Western Golf Alliance policy bans equipment that portrays a negative appearance on the player. Among the equipment explicitly cited as "looking plain stupid" and thus banned under the new policy:

-- Equipment with strange-attempting-to-be-funny names (e.g., "Baffler" "Mojo" "Noodle")

-- All-orange clothing worn head-to-toe

-- Balls that are half yellow, half white

-- Ball retrievers (which were always banned under WGA rules)

-- Pink driver shafts (unless your wife actually has/had breast cancer, then it's super cool)

-- Any putter club head designed to look like the Batmobile

-- Hats that promote accounting firms

-- Tees made from dust brushes

-- Anything at all from the "Travis Mathew" brand

All other club rules remain consistent with the official USGA Rules of Golf.

"We know that the goal of the rules of golf isn’t to make the game more fun, or to help the millions of amateur golfers who enjoy the sport, but to make sure that Adam Scott maintains his appearance of ‘cool’ on television," summarized Gray. "However, since most of us already look cooler than Phil Michelson, we wanted to ensure our status and stature in the golf world."

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About the Western Golf Alliance: The Western Golf Alliance is the premier golf organization in the United States. The WGA exists to further the greatness of this grand sport of golf through the improvement of golf play by its members, the promotion of golf rules, etiquette, and tradition, and the ability to gather together from time to time for golf events and tournaments. The regional organization spans five western states, and is organized into nine geographic regions. Further information is available at http://www.westerngolf.org/.

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