Failed CT Tests On Tour Are No Big Deal—So Why All the Secrecy?

The scene plays out weekly on PGA Tour driving ranges and if you know what to look for, it’s impossible to miss. There’s a player surrounded by six or seven people frantically working to dial in a backup driver.

Nobody needs to say what happened. Everyone knows: another driver failed its CT test.

For the uninitiated, CT (Characteristic Time) testing is the USGA’s method of ensuring driver conformity during competition. The process involves dropping a pendulum onto the face of a driver and measuring how long it stays in contact with the face. Effectively, the test measures how much the driver face flexes upon impact.

USGA rules set the limit at 239 microseconds with a 18-microsecond tolerance, creating a functional limit of 257 microseconds. Anything above that threshold and the driver is deemed non-conforming and must be removed from play.

The testing process itself introduces variables that complicate matters. CT values can differ depending on the specific gauge used and the operator conducting the test. A driver that tests as conforming on one device could fail on another, adding an element of randomness to an already imprecise process.

Who gets tested is random as well, with roughly 50 drivers tested each week across the field. While some manufacturers proactively test their staffers’ drivers whenever they visit the equipment van—even for routine services like new grips or lie and loft adjustments—most failures come as complete surprises during official competition testing.

And here’s the thing that might surprise you: failures happen constantly.

The reality of CT creep

Following his own CT test failure at the PGA Championship, along with Scottie Scheffler’s highly publicized issue, Rory McIlroy offered some much-needed perspective on the situation.

“I think there needs to be more education around it,” McIlroy said. “I think when people hear ‘non-conforming driver,’ they think that we’re trying to gain an advantage or we’re cheating or whatever. That’s not the case at all.”

McIlroy is absolutely right and his comments highlight a fundamental misunderstanding about what these failures actually mean.

The reality is that CT values naturally drift higher over time due to repeated impacts, a phenomenon known as “CT creep.” Drivers that test perfectly conforming off the assembly line can gradually migrate toward and beyond the legal limit simply through normal use.

Recent years have seen numerous high-profile failures beyond McIlroy and Scheffler. Xander Schauffele dealt with a failed driver at the 2019 Open Championship. The early implementation of random testing during the 2019 season reportedly saw multiple failures at events like the Safeway Open.

None of these players was attempting to cheat. They were simply victims of physics.

Much ado about very little

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the CT controversy is how little, if any, advantage comes from a marginally non-conforming driver.

At a 100-mph swing speed, a 10-point CT difference equates to roughly 0.5 mph of additional ball speed. For Tour players swinging around 120 mph, that number jumps to about 0.63 mph. We’re talking about benefits measured in barely yards, not tens of yards.

Moreover, any theoretical distance gains are grossly outweighed by the risks involved. As drivers begin to fail CT tests, face deformity can occur, leading to shots flying offline. Add the inconvenience and unfamiliarity that comes with a forced switch to a backup and it becomes clear that no rational player would intentionally use a non-conforming driver.

The math simply doesn’t add up for intentional rule-breaking.

The transparency problem

If CT failures are routine and the performance advantages are negligible, why does each incident feel like a scandal? The answer lies in the PGA Tour’s culture of secrecy.

Test results are kept confidential, creating an information vacuum that breeds speculation and misunderstanding. When details do emerge, they often come through whispers and assumptions rather than official channels.

This lack of transparency does a disservice to everyone involved. Players are viewed with suspicion for equipment failures beyond their control. Fans are left to wonder about the integrity of competition. Equipment manufacturers face questions about their quality control.

The irony is that transparency would likely reduce rather than amplify controversy. If golfers understood how common CT failures are and how minimal the advantages might be, each incident would register as the minor equipment hiccup it actually is.

A better approach

CT testing serves an important purpose in maintaining equipment standards and random testing helps ensure compliance across the field. But the current system’s opacity creates problems where none should exist.

The solution isn’t to eliminate testing; it’s to eliminate secrecy. Publish the results. Educate fans about CT creep. Explain the minimal performance implications. Turn equipment compliance into the straightforward technical matter it should be rather than the perceived scandal it often becomes.

Players like McIlroy are right to call for more education around CT testing. But education requires information and information requires transparency.

Until the tours and governing bodies embrace openness about equipment testing, we’ll continue to see routine equipment maintenance treated like breaking news. And players will continue to be viewed with unwarranted suspicion for the simple act of playing golf with drivers that have experienced normal wear.

The real scandal isn’t failed CT tests. It’s the unnecessary mystery surrounding them.

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