Opinion & Analysis
Should the long putter be completely banned?
The anchoring of the long putter was banned completely on Jan. 1, 2016. You would think that would spell the end of the subject, yet here we are approaching the end of 2018, and the long putter is still a hot topic in the game of golf.
At the John Deere Classic earlier this year, David Hearn was called out by the rules officials because of concerns over how well he was putting, and whether or not he was anchoring the putter.
He spent some time having his putting stroke analyzed, and the officials deemed that he was in fact not anchoring the putter and was allowed to continue with the stroke.
With golf being a gentleman’s game, we are all compelled to believe that those professionals who still use the long putter, are in fact abiding by the rules and no longer anchor the putter. However, when you see some putting strokes, you can’t help but think the putter is resting against the golfer’s chest, and it does make you question whether or not the putters themselves should be banned completely.
It does raise the question whether or not certain professionals are able to simply hold the putter away from their chests when showing the rules officials, and then revert back to anchoring the putter when actually in play. Does the game need that sort of controversy?
If there is that much doubt and controversy surrounding the subject, why are the putters not banned themselves? It seems to be a hotly debated topic among tour professionals with many still supporting a ban of the long putter completely, and many others adamant that they should be still allowed in the game.
Keegan Bradley, Ernie Els, Webb Simpson, and Adam Scott, all major winners with the long putter have all seen their putting stats drop dramatically since the ban even though, as Webb Simpson pointed out in 2012, “If you look at the facts, last year there was no one in the top 20 of strokes gained category that anchored a putter”
Bernhard Langer’s continued use of the long putter has caused more discussion and debate than anyone else still choosing to use the club, with the former golf pro, Mark Allen calling Bernhard’s stroke “illegal.”
One argument for the continued use of the long putter when the ruling against the anchoring came in, was the fact that none of the top 20 players in the PGA Tour’s stats for the most reliable putting used a long putter, and that if they were that good, more golfers would be using them.
Putting is probably the most important part of the game of golf, and when you have to hold your nerve and swing every other club from your driver down to your wedge with both feel and control, surely those conditions should be the same when putting?
Whatever side of the fence you sit, if the USGA and R&A wanted to eradicate the issues surrounding the anchoring of the putter completely, and any advantage that it may or may not give a player, then surely the only decision would have been to ban the putters themselves? As it currently stands, the air of doubt surrounding the use of the long putter is going to be with us for some time yet.
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19th Hole
Vincenzi’s LIV Golf Singapore betting preview: Course specialist ready to thrive once again
After another strong showing in Australia, LIV Golf will head to Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore looking to build off of what was undoubtedly their best event to date.
Sentosa Golf Club sits on the southern tip of Singapore and is one of the most beautiful courses in the world. The course is more than just incredible scenically; it was also rated 55th in Golf Digest’s top-100 courses in 2022-2023 and has been consistently regarded as one of the best courses in Asia. Prior to being part of the LIV rotation, the course hosted the Singapore Open every year since 2005.
Sentosa Golf Club is a par 71 measuring 7,406 yards. The course will require precise ball striking and some length off the tee. It’s possible to go low due to the pristine conditions, but there are also plenty of hazards and difficult spots on the course that can bring double bogey into play in a hurry. The Bermudagrass greens are perfectly manicured, and the course has spent millions on the sub-air system to keep the greens rolling fast. I spoke to Asian Tour player, Travis Smyth, who described the greens as “the best [he’s] ever played.”
Davis Love III, who competed in a Singapore Open in 2019, also gushed over the condition of the golf course.
“I love the greens. They are fabulous,” the 21-time PGA Tour winner said.
Love III also spoke about other aspects of the golf course.
“The greens are great; the fairways are perfect. It is a wonderful course, and it’s tricky off the tee.”
“It’s a long golf course, and you get some long iron shots. It takes somebody hitting it great to hit every green even though they are big.”
As Love III said, the course can be difficult off the tee due to the length of the course and the trouble looming around every corner. It will take a terrific ball striking week to win at Sentosa Golf Club.
In his pre-tournament press conference last season, Phil Mickelson echoed many of the same sentiments.
“To play Sentosa effectively, you’re going to have a lot of shots from 160 to 210, a lot of full 6-, 7-, 8-iron shots, and you need to hit those really well and you need to drive the ball well.”
Golfers who excel from tee to green and can dial in their longer irons will have a massive advantage this week.
Stat Leaders at LIV Golf Adelaide:
Fairways Hit
1.) Louis Oosthuizen
2.) Anirban Lahiri
3.) Jon Rahm
4.) Brendan Steele
5.) Cameron Tringale
Greens in Regulation
1.) Brooks Koepka
2.) Brendan Steele
3.) Dean Burmester
4.) Cameron Tringale
5.) Anirban Lahiri
Birdies Made
1.) Brendan Steele
2.) Dean Burmester
3.) Thomas Pieters
4.) Patrick Reed
5.) Carlos Ortiz
LIV Golf Individual Standings:
1.) Joaquin Niemann
2.) Jon Rahm
3.) Dean Burmester
4.) Louis Oosthuizen
5.) Abraham Ancer
LIV Golf Team Standings:
1.) Crushers
2.) Legion XIII
3.) Torque
4.) Stinger GC
5.) Ripper GC
LIV Golf Singapore Picks
Sergio Garcia +3000 (DraftKings)
Sergio Garcia is no stranger to Sentosa Golf Club. The Spaniard won the Singapore Open in 2018 by five strokes and lost in a playoff at LIV Singapore last year to scorching hot Talor Gooch. Looking at the course setup, it’s no surprise that a player like Sergio has played incredible golf here. He’s long off the tee and is one of the better long iron players in the world when he’s in form. Garcia is also statistically a much better putter on Bermudagrass than he is on other putting surfaces. He’s putt extremely well on Sentosa’s incredibly pure green complexes.
This season, Garcia has two runner-up finishes, both of them being playoff losses. Both El Camaleon and Doral are courses he’s had success at in his career. The Spaniard is a player who plays well at his tracks, and Sentosa is one of them. I believe Sergio will get himself in the mix this week. Hopefully the third time is a charm in Singapore.
Paul Casey +3300 (FanDuel)
Paul Casey is in the midst of one of his best seasons in the five years or so. The results recently have been up and down, but he’s shown that when he’s on a golf course that suits his game, he’s amongst the contenders.
This season, Casey has finishes of T5 (LIV Las Vegas), T2 (LIV Hong Kong), and a 6th at the Singapore Classic on the DP World Tour. At his best, the Englishman is one of the best long iron players in the world, which makes him a strong fit for Sentosa. Despite being in poor form last season, he was able to fire a Sunday 63, which shows he can low here at the course.
It’s been three years since Casey has won a tournament (Omega Dubai Desert Classic in 2021), but he’s been one of the top players on LIV this season and I think he can get it done at some point this season.
Mito Pereira +5000 (Bet365)
Since Mito Pereira’s unfortunate demise at the 2022 PGA Championship, he’s been extremely inconsistent. However, over the past few months, the Chilean has played well on the International Series as well as his most recent LIV start. Mito finished 8th at LIV Adelaide, which was his best LIV finish this season.
Last year, Pereira finished 5th at LIV Singapore, shooting fantastic rounds of 67-66-66. It makes sense why Mito would like Sentosa, as preeminent ball strikers tend to rise to the challenge of the golf course. He’s a great long iron player who is long and straight off the tee.
Mito has some experience playing in Asia and is one of the most talented players on LIV who’s yet to get in the winner’s circle. I have questions about whether or not he can come through once in contention, but if he gets there, I’m happy to roll the dice.
Andy Ogletree +15000 (DraftKings)
Andy Ogletree is a player I expected to have a strong 2024 but struggled early in his first full season on LIV. After failing to crack the top-25 in any LIV event this year, the former U.S. Amateur champion finally figured things out, finished in a tie for 3rd at LIV Adelaide.
Ogletree should be incredible comfortable playing in Singapore. He won the International Series Qatar last year and finished T3 at the International Series Singapore. The 26-year-old was arguably the best player on the Asian Tour in 2023 and has been fantastic in the continent over the past 18 months.
If Ogletree has indeed found form, he looks to be an amazing value at triple-digit odds.
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In Tampa, there is a golf course that boasts carts that do not work, a water range, and a group of players none of which have any chance to break 80. The course is overseen by a staff of crusty men who have succeeded at nothing in life but ending up at the worst-run course in America. However, this place is no failure. With several other local courses going out of business — and boasting outstanding greens — the place is booked full.
While I came for the great greens, I stayed to watch our resident instructor; a poor-tempered, method teacher who caters to the hopeless. At first, it was simply hilarious. However, after months of listening and watching, something clicked. I realized I had a front-row seat to the worst golf instructor in America.
Here are some of my key takeaways.
Method Teacher
It is widely accepted that there are three types of golf instructors: system teachers, non-system teachers, and method teachers. Method teachers prescribe the same antidote for each student based on a preamble which teachers can learn in a couple day certification.
Method teaching allows anyone to be certified. This process caters to the lowest caliber instructor, creating the illusion of competency. This empowers these underqualified instructors with the moniker of “certified” to prey on the innocent and uninformed.
The Cult of Stack and Jilt
The Stack and Tilt website proudly boasts, “A golfer swings his hands inward in the backswing as opposed to straight back to 1) create power, similar to a field goal kicker moving his leg in an arc and 2) to promote a swing that is in-to-out, which produces a draw (and eliminates a slice).”
Now, let me tell you something, there is this law of the universe which says “energy can either be created or destroyed,” so either these guys are defying physics or they have no idea what they are taking about. Further, the idea that the first move of the backswing determines impact is conjecture with a splash of utter fantasy.
These are the pontifications of a method — a set of prescriptions applied to everyone with the hope of some success through the placebo effect. It is one thing for a naive student to believe, for a golf instructor to drink and then dispel this Kool-Aid is malpractice.
Fooled by Randomness
In flipping a coin, or even a March Madness bet, there is a 50-50 chance of success. In golf, especially for new players, results are asymmetric. Simply put: Anything can happen. The problem is that when bad instructors work with high handicappers, each and every shot gets its own diagnosis and prescription. Soon the student is overwhelmed.
Now here’s the sinister thing: The overwhelming information is by design. In this case, the coach is not trying to make you better, they are trying to make you reliant on them for information. A quasi Stockholm syndrome of codependency.
Practice
One of the most important scientists of the 20th century was Ivan Pavlov. As you might recall, he found that animals, including humans, could be conditioned into biological responses. In golf, the idea of practice has made millions of hackers salivate that they are one lesson or practice session from “the secret.”
Sunk Cost
The idea for the worst golf instructor is to create control and dependency so that clients ignore the sunk cost of not getting better. Instead, they are held hostage by the idea that they are one lesson or tip away from unlocking their potential.
Cliches
Cliches have the effect of terminating thoughts. However, they are the weapon of choice for this instructor. Add some hyperbole and students actually get no information. As a result, these players couldn’t play golf. When they did, they had no real scheme. With no idea what they are doing, they would descend into a spiral of no idea what to do, bad results, lower confidence, and running back to the lesson tee from more cliches.
The fact is that poor instruction is about conditioning players to become reliant members of your cult. To take away autonomy. To use practice as a form of control. To sell more golf lessons not by making people better but through the guise that without the teacher, the student can never reach their full potential. All under the umbrella of being “certified” (in a 2-day course!) and a melee of cliches.
This of course is not just happening at my muni but is a systemic problem around the country and around the world, the consequences of which are giving people a great reason to stop playing golf. But hey, at least it’s selling a lot of golf balls…
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The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.
TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.
Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.
However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.
Past Winners at TPC Louisiana
- 2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
- 2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
- 2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
- 2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
- 2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
- 2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)
2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks
Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)
Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.
This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.
McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.
Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)
Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.
Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.
Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)
Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.
NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.
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Rod Clarke
Oct 9, 2018 at 6:51 pm
I understood the intent was for the R&A and USGA to get rid of the long putter from the game but the anchoring rule they introduced left a big loophole.
Going back to the foundations and ethos of the game, players hand or hands were below the elbows when holding and executing a shot. Adopting that proviso for all clubs should send the long putters into retirement. Midsize length putters (like Kouchar and DeChambeau use) would still be used I guess. In fact, doesn’t DeChambeau anchor his putter against his arm? Now that’s another question.
Radim Pavlicek
Oct 9, 2018 at 2:19 am
Your hands has to be below your waist and the putter has to be the shorstes club in the bag. Two simple rules and problem is solved.
Kelly Roberts
Oct 9, 2018 at 10:15 am
Who the heck is Mark Allen?
Pete
Oct 10, 2018 at 10:18 pm
Mark Allen? Aussie golf pro and a very entertaining radio host on Melbourne radio.
ralph
Oct 8, 2018 at 11:25 pm
No…. just ban the tour pro golfers who use the long putter… 😛
JP
Oct 8, 2018 at 10:04 pm
I bet if Tiger started using a long putter, the USGA would completely allow it, and allow it to be used in any style Tiger wanted to use it. He could sell a ton of them and the USGA and manufacturers would get into bed together faster than you could blink.
paul schofield
Oct 8, 2018 at 6:56 pm
Never mind banning the long putter. It’s a bad rule just reverse it.
Phil Shockley
Oct 8, 2018 at 5:58 pm
The ONLY way you will end this debate if for the USGA and R&A to get some balls and eliminate the Long Putter, that will end the debate. I watch the Champions Tour and Langer says he does not anchor it but it appears that he does. Unless and Until they invalidate the use of the long putter, these discussions will continue.
Another thought that an attorney friend stated to me is until both sides of the ocean elect NON-LAWYERS to positions of power they will never get anything done, they are the ONLY people to debate what the word IS means.
C
Oct 8, 2018 at 2:22 pm
Yes… ban them…. anything past 36 inches should be like hockey allowing extra length for only tall players. Should get rid of mallets too. Way past time for pro equipment rules.
Wilfred Lowe
Oct 8, 2018 at 6:58 pm
If it was that much better wouldn’t all pros being doing it? Use your head if you spent the time to perfect your stroke you would do what is BEST for YOU, right. Just because you are not good at it don’t put it down. The way you talk every buddy should put the same way. Well real golfers know that Everyone is different,thus you see many different styles and Strokes whatever works within the rules. Sounds to me like you are jealous of good putters. You should try it maybe you will learn something that would help your game.
Bruce
Oct 15, 2018 at 9:47 am
Let’s go back to wood woods, hickory shafts, and feather stuffed balls – that’s how real men play.
art Williams
Oct 8, 2018 at 1:32 pm
I tried it years ago and could not master it. It is not easy. In the beginning I felt it was not a true stroke and should have been deemed illegal. However, the USGA & the R & A took forever to move on this style of putting that it seemed unfair to then come up with the “anchor ban”. If they want to revisit it go ahead with a ban on major pro tours and elite amateur tournaments like the US Am. Let regular hackers use it if it keeps them coming out to the course each week. Golf is a game right? I’d bet half of those yelling about this putting style roll the ball in the fairway and take their share of mulligans. Play on!
Bradley Smith
Oct 8, 2018 at 12:55 pm
1s the only player to win a major using a long putter is Adam Scott the others used belly putters !
2nd the R&A alongwith the USGA brought the anchor ban into stopping the use of thè belly putter which they have achieved !
the long putter was never an issue with them
joro
Oct 8, 2018 at 12:33 pm
It should either be banned or OK’d, but not this BS. So many times it looks like they anchor it but the Cameras move behind them and you can’t see what is going on. But I do believe both MeCarron and Longer have been connected many times. There really was no reason to ban it in the first place other than the usual, Gary, jack, and Arnie didn’t like it and the Bluenoses had obey. They didn’t like the Grooves, the Bluenoses changed it, as well as the length of a Driver. It is stupid and like every other rule, not enforced. So there!!!
Bob Jones
Oct 8, 2018 at 12:27 pm
The anchor ban was a misguided rule designed only to get back at anchoring pros winning major championships. Unfortunately, millions of recreational golfers got caught up in the hysteria.
mlecuni
Oct 8, 2018 at 2:12 pm
millions … lol
Scott
Oct 10, 2018 at 11:35 am
OK, 6 golfers
Doug
Oct 8, 2018 at 11:39 am
Rules change when a person wins and someone in power doesn’t like the winner’s style of play.
Cody
Oct 8, 2018 at 7:53 am
the short and long of it is no, they do not need to ban them completely. it was a stupid rule to begin with.
Mark H. "Spud" Friedman
Oct 8, 2018 at 11:43 am
E X A C T L Y !!!
DJ Morris
Oct 8, 2018 at 7:09 am
Make the rules say that the putter MUST be the shortest club in your bag…. End of discussion and problem solved!
scott
Oct 10, 2018 at 11:38 am
No. Who is to say what length a wedge should be?
andrew
Oct 7, 2018 at 9:32 pm
They should keep long putters and remove the anchor ban. What did really change?
ChipNRun
Oct 7, 2018 at 7:50 pm
Have you seen the old photo in the Royal & Ancient clubhours at St. Andrews of the man being locked in the stocks for using a “longe putter”?
The answer is no, the photo doesn’t exist. As BD57 notes, the ban was a “get off my lawn” moment for the USGA.
And SHAWN nails it too – the longer putter relieves stress on those with bad backs.
4RiGHT
Oct 7, 2018 at 5:26 pm
I’ll make this long story short! Yes!!!
BD57
Oct 7, 2018 at 9:22 am
Banning the long / belly putter was the USGA’s “get off my lawn” moment.
If they were going to do it, the time was back when Orville Moody started using it. But they didn’t, because Orville was a horrifically bad putter “conventionally,” and they knew it, and they chose not to drive him out of the game.
The situation was similar with the other seniors who started using them – they were older guys, past their prime, and so what?
The USGA lost it’s mind when they saw younger guys using the belly putter. But they had both hands together on the thing – they just had the club tucked into their stomach. Still had to stroke it; you can still pull or push the heck out of a putt with your hands using a belly putter. But it “didn’t look right,” so – 20+ years after the fact, the USGA told the kids to “get off their lawn.”
Meanwhile, for those 20+ years, people who don’t play for a living, who want to play by the rules, had been using one form or another of a “long putter” so they could at least NOT DREAD walking on a green – and they get told “you’re illegal, you have to go back to feeling like you have a snake in your hands.”
Stupid, counterproductive, rule.
P.S. – don’t use a belly or long putter. Tried the belly putter for a good stretch …. wound up going back to conventional, because it just. wasn’t. better. for. me.
Mit
Oct 7, 2018 at 8:04 am
Using stats don’t justify a long putter. Who cares if the stats don’t say it makes you better, the action is not a stroke,
Using a bad back is not justification. If you can swing a wedge you can swing a putter. And if it hurts to pick a ball, get a suction cup put on the end of your putter grip. It’s not a stroke.
The entire action of a broom handled/arm locked putter flies in the face of a golf “swing”. It’s accepted cheating in my book.
No broom handles,
No arm locks,
A putter in your hands….learn to deal with it like all the other things we have to deal with in golf.
Glad I got that off my chest 🙂
Douglas Moore
Oct 6, 2018 at 11:34 pm
If the long putter is such an advantage, and putting is arguably the most important part of the game EVERY tour Pro would put it into play.
If the long putter could cut 1/2 stroke per round, that’s 2 strokes per tournament.
As far as the guy up top saying he’s personally seen Langer on tv anchoring his putter, you are wrong. When I hold my putter 1/8″.to 1/16″ away, it’s brushing my shirt and you would be mistaken when you accuse me of cheating.
Put a sensor on all long putters and players. If anchoring is taking place a buzzer or light goes off. Simple and effective.
Go try a long putter for yourself. Absolutely difficult to master.
Tyler
Oct 6, 2018 at 10:32 pm
I have seen Langer on TV anchor his putter. It was obvious and Langer says there is no intent. I can’t believe more players on the Senior Tour don’t speak out on it.
shawn
Oct 6, 2018 at 4:46 pm
How did this all happen? Most on this forum don’t know. Here’s the story.
The long putter originated in the early 1980s. Older golfers with bad backs seized on it as did some pros. The USGA and R&A had to make a decision. They allowed it. Why?
Because then U.S. President Bush Sr. used it and promoted it. The USGA couldn’t go against the POTUS. Believe it or not…
Eric
Oct 6, 2018 at 12:22 pm
Rules of golf should establish a maximum shaft length for a putter, this would put a end to the anchoring issues.
shawn
Oct 6, 2018 at 4:59 pm
In badminton the serve must be hit below waist height and with the racquet shaft pointing downwards. Similarly in golf, both hands must be below waist height at Address.
Greg V
Oct 6, 2018 at 5:17 pm
I think that this would be a great rule. IT would eliminate the broom stick – which is really not a golf swing (it is a lever action). But it would allow the belly putter – which to me looks like a golf swing.
Scott
Oct 10, 2018 at 11:42 am
Then how do you hit a side hill shot when the ball is above waist high? It does not happen often, but it can happen.
Brandon
Oct 6, 2018 at 11:21 am
Golf is hard. Most people can’t break 90. Nothing should be banned. Why are the governing bodies so intent on driving people away from the game?
shawn
Oct 6, 2018 at 4:48 pm
Okay… but should tour pros be allowed to use it? Or only if they can’t break 90?
Kim Hay
Oct 6, 2018 at 10:49 am
There is one way to fix all of this. Add to the rules of golf that all strokes must executed with the hands in contact with each other. The long putter action is not a stoke, it is a push. Would you ever hit a drive with the hands separated by 18″? Use any length putter you want as long as the your hands are in some way in contact.
Henry
Oct 6, 2018 at 10:56 am
I agree they need to tidy things up, but what you’re discussing would lead to many claw style grips being banned as well – that’s a tonne of players.
America
Oct 6, 2018 at 12:23 pm
Or ton, if spelled correctly.
Pete O'Tube
Oct 6, 2018 at 3:48 pm
or Tonne, if you’re metric or a cheese eating surrender monkey.
TJ
Oct 6, 2018 at 7:04 pm
Or Tun if you’re a Bot.
jamesb
Oct 6, 2018 at 11:04 pm
Stupid comment.
Kim Hay
Oct 7, 2018 at 11:25 am
Claw style grips could still be used if there is contact between the hands otherwise it is a push or scoop, not a stroke. New rule description: “A stroke is the action of propelling a ball by striking it with a club held in both hands contacting each other.” Controversy over.
gunmetal
May 29, 2019 at 1:14 am
So no more one handed backwards punch outs, a la Sergio in the tree? No more split grip/hockey style even with response putters?
TJH
Oct 6, 2018 at 2:01 pm
That would then eliminate the claw grip as well
Greg V
Oct 6, 2018 at 5:15 pm
Why would it eliminate the claw? I use the claw, and my hands are touching. Every pro that uses the claw has his hands touching – not on top of the shaft, but underneath the shaft.
JC
Oct 6, 2018 at 7:06 pm
Try using a Bear Claw to putt. That’s one sweet way to putt.
Ken
Oct 6, 2018 at 10:36 am
Anchoring should never have been banned. They have hurt the average golfer trying to simply enjoy a difficult game. At the height of the controversy with some major winners using anchoring the majority of wins occurred with conventional style putting so shouldn’t that be banned? Need bifurcation of the rules if these are the kind of short sited decisions and can hardly wait until a roll back of distance measures. This could continue the decline of the game
shawn
Oct 6, 2018 at 4:51 pm
The long putter doesn’t ‘help’ the good average golfer… it helps the decrepit golfer with a bad back and can’t bend over to putt… and get the ball out of the hole either.
Bob Jones
Oct 8, 2018 at 12:28 pm
Exactly. And I’ve ben there.
Myron miller
Oct 8, 2018 at 12:55 pm
fully agree. Although I did try the long putter about 30+ years ago. had one specially built for me and tried it for a few weeks. i found that with short putts it was excellent but really really struggled getting the distance right on 20-40 foot putts. Much easier to control regular putter ( but i use a 37″ putter rather than the standard 35″ that is pretty standard. I can’t bend over that well. use tool for getting ball out of hole. easy to use and fully legal.
same rules for pros and regular amateurs has never made any sense to me. Baseball has long had different rules as does football. College basketball is different from pro’s to college to high school, etc. Don’t know about tennis.
But image is everything to USGA and R&A. Practicality isn’t meaningful.