The Evian Tour bans 'Hot' drivers

The Ladies European Tour have adopted the decision by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) to ban the use of thin-faced drivers with a spring effect from their Ladies Evian Tour (LET) this season.

Starting at the ANZ Masters Tournament on Australia's Gold Coast, drivers such as the Callaway ERC II and any in the Taylor Made "R" series with a 'Coefficient of Restitution' (COR) of greater than 0.830 will be forbidden for use in any event on both the LPGA and the LET Tours.

"After careful consideration and consultation with the Tour Players' Council, and to be consistent with the LPGA, the LET will be adopting for all Tour events this year a new 'Condition of Competition' which deals with the 'Spring-like' effect of Driving Clubs," said Huw Jones, a senior tournament director for the LET."

The ruling, which was introduced on January 1 for the men's European PGA Tour season, has already produced one victim.

China's Wen-Chong Liang was disqualified after the second round of the Caltex Singapore Open when it was found that his driver, a Mizuno 300 SII model, was illegal.

If your are an amateur, have recently purchased one of the almost 150 'hot drivers' deemed non-conforming and play your golf in an area of the world under the control of the R&A, don't panic.

Your driver will only become illegal in 2008 by which time it will probably be worn out and outdated.

In the USA it's different. The USGA has outlawed hot drivers in all levels of the game

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