The ongoing saga of driver testing on the professional circuits was reignited on Monday, when Major winner, Lucas Glover, claimed that some players cheat the system.
Speaking on the SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio show, Glover explained that a loophole means players can get away with certain protocols when it comes to the testing of clubs.
"I’ve been trying to think all morning and all day how to say this without sounding like it’s gonna sound, but most guys don’t give them their real driver anyway," stated Glover when co-host, Taylor Zarzour, questioned why testing isn’t conducted across the board.
"They give them their backup (driver) just in case. No, it’s true. And the testing is the way it is. Why? And again, I know a lot of guys, they keep two drivers in their bag just in case. 'Hey, oh, yeah, it’s this one. It’s this one right here. Yeah, do this, test this one.'"
At the PGA Championship, the topic of driver testing came up after Rory McIlroy's TaylorMade Qi10 driver was deemed non-conforming by the USGA, with the five-time Major winner forced to switch to a backup driver just 48 hours out from the championship.
Along with McIlroy, PGA Championship winner Scottie Scheffler also revealed that his driver failed on the eve of the event, but because he had been prepared for the situation, he was able to seamlessly move to another driver.
"I was told a long time ago, golf clubs are actually like snowflakes," stated Glover, whose driver was also tested on PGA Championship week, with it passing.
"They may read the same, they may look the same, they may fall the same way out of the sky, they may build them the exact same in the trailer, but they’re snowflakes.
"There is nothing identical. To the point where, even the backups I travel with, I know it is not as good. If it was as good or better, I’d be hitting it."
At the start of the year, Glover suggested several ways in which the PGA Tour could improve its pace of play and, when it came to driver testing, the American has once again drafted up a possible solution to help the process and close the loopholes.
"Immediately, I came to the realization that we’re not all playing under the same umbrella at these Majors unless we did test everybody,” Glover explained.
"So we got LIV guys, we got other tour guys, we got tons of different players and tours being represented at the four biggest tournaments of the year. So why doesn’t everybody get tested at every Major?
"Why don’t we somehow try to make sure it’s the driver being used? If that costs X amount of dollars, great. Let’s do it. All these organizations got plenty. Look at the tents they build every week.
"If we’re going be on an equal playing field, and the four biggest events are going to bring all these people and all these tours together, let’s make sure we’re playing under the same rules."
