GolfLink

The golf season began and ended under the considerable canopy that is Tiger Woods.

But the question at the outset of the year was — will he play? — and concluded with — will he win again?

Woods answered the first query, when he teed it up at the Masters, but he will need at least one more golf season to tackle the second question.

The year of 2010 provided plenty of golf headlines. Here are the 10 that rose to the top, according to GolfLink’s esteemed panel.

1. Tiger Woods, On And Off The Course: It’s tough to knock Tiger from the top spot of any golf news category, but toss in some tabloid sizzle and it was virtually guaranteed that Woods’ name bubbled to the top.

His 2009 Thanksgiving weekend car accident unearthed sordid tales that Woods clearly wished would have remained firmly within the confines of his golf bag, but as the alleged mistresses began to queue up for their 15 minutes it was game over on many fronts.

Sponsors fled, Woods retreated to rehab and the golf world wondered and waited for his return. Ultimately that came at the Masters in April and despite an opening round 68 and eventual T-4 finish, he looked more like a talented rookie who couldn’t quite harness his game than a seasoned world champion.

Tiger Woods hits shot at 2010 U.S. Open, where he finished T-4. Photo copyright USGA/Mike Ehrmann

As the year progressed, Woods’ marriage to Elin Nordegren ended in divorce and his season ended without a victory. That was the first time as a professional that Woods did not cash the winner’s check at least once during the year.

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It seems that the PGA Tour and Ping have come to their senses and put the silly groove controversy behind them.

Through an agreement between the two parties that takes effect March 29, pre-1990 Ping irons with non-conforming, square grooves will no longer be allowed on the PGA, Champions or Nationwide Tours. The deal extends to the U.S. Open as well.

Ping Eye-2 irons and wedges that conform to the rule remain eligible for play on the professional tours. The grandfather clause that allowed non-conforming Ping clubs also remains in effect for USGA amateur events.

“We all believe it is in the best interests of golf,” said John Solheim, son of Ping founder Karsten Solheim. “It levels the playing field on the PGA TOUR and resolves a very unfortunate situation that we predicted would happen when the USGA first proposed the new groove rule more than two years ago.”

The controversy dates back 20 years when Ping sued the PGA Tour and the USGA over a ruling that outlawed square grooves, aka U-shaped grooves, that impart greater spin than traditional V-shaped grooves.

A settlement in the case led to the grandfather clause.

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A weathered sage once said that everything can be distilled into two categories: good for ball or bad for ball.

There are few gray areas, except for those things that can be categorized in both. But that’s life, isn’t it?

So it stands to reason the measuring stick can be applied to golf.

Seeing the shelf empty which last held the limited brew English Porter is bad for golf. Watching the clerk emerge from the backroom with the remaining six-pack is good for golf.

Pulling up in front of your house to see your three-year-old daughter playing with your vintage Jimi Hendrix vinyl, bad. Seeing her smile and making you forget why you were mad, good.

That’s how it works, everything is good for golf, or bad for golf. Here goes:

Bad for golf: Groovegate – The PGA Tour let themselves get played by this and now they’ve got players calling out their professional brethren as cheaters. For the moment, Tiger Woods is not part of the discussion.

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ORLANDO — Ping has positioned itself as an innovator and is continuing to make its case with its latest introductions.

That would be the G15  series of clubs that is designed for game improvement, and the I15 line, which takes aim at better players.

In the 51 years since Karsten Solheim first made putters in his Redwood City garage, the company has put stock in its ability to not only bring innovation to the products it offers to golfers, but also to the machines it uses to make them.

Not satisfied with buying a machine that can simply do the job, they make their own. It’s a refelction of the engineering that Solheim brought to his company and ultimately named after his first putter, the 1A that actually made a pinging sound when it struck a golf ball.

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When Tiger Woods returns from a self-imposed absence remains open to question and that also leaves open what his professional year may look like.

Speculation has revolved around the disbelief that he’ll let a year pass with Pebble Beach and St. Andrews on the docket as sites for the U.S. Open and British Open, respectively. But 2010 has another pivotal golf event on the calendar and that is the Ryder Cup.

Set for Oct. 1-3 at Celtic Manor Resort in Wales, eligibility to the U.S. squad will largely be earned through points based on this year’s money list. Points were awarded for performance in last year’s majors, but this year each dollar will earn a point with amounts to double at the major tournaments.

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