Opinion & Analysis
Why we botched the anchored putter ban, and what we can do about it
Now let me start by saying this: I use a traditional putter and so, to a degree, I don’t really have a dog in the anchored-putter fight.
On top of that, I love and respect the USGA and the R&A for all they do to preserve and protect the integrity of the game, as well as to grow it. We need governing bodies in golf, and we need the governing bodies to continue to work together as they do or the rules by which it is played all over the world will become fractured and subject to potentially dubious influence. The rules, as they stand, are confusing and voluminous enough without having a different set by which to play, depending upon where in the world you are.
That being said, the ruling bodies collectively botched this one. With two years to come up with a suitable interpretation for their intention, and what they believed would serve to protect the spirit of the game, it would seem in this case they suffered from nothing more than that age-old golfer’s infliction: paralysis from analysis. So before I get to my solution, let me first start with the reasons why I believe what the ruling bodies came up with for the anchored putter ban was wrong, why it has the potential to hurt the game, and why it comes at the worst possible time.
It’s not an unfair advantage
Anchored putters have been around for a long, long time, and while belly-putters are the newer kid on the block, Phil Rogers first used one in competition in the 1960s. I could give you all the brain science to back it up, but the fact is, if anchored putters were really such a huge advantage they would have been adopted en masse a long time ago by all the players on the various tours. They play golf for a living; it’s how they pay their mortgages and trust me, their often king-size egos aren’t so big that the majority of them wouldn’t adopt a new piece of allowable equipment if it really gave them an advantage. You don’t see hordes of touring professionals clinging to their persimmons and steel-shafted drivers out of tradition. When it became clear that metal, graphite, and titanium were obviously better options, they dropped that old stuff like a bad habit.
Disputes
While the USGA and R&A govern golf, they’re not involved in the day-to-day operations, and their interpretation of this new rule has set us who do up for endless disputes — like the controversy over what Bernhard Langer did while winning his first tournament after the anchor ban. Unlike Adam Scott, many who use anchored putters won’t abandon them altogether, and trying to determine whether or not a player’s forearm is actually touching his body or not, especially in cold weather where players are wearing bulky jackets and many layers, is pretty much impossible and unenforceable.
Since Jan. 1, I’ve had to get in the middle of more disputes between members than I have in 25 years, and every one has been about whether or not a certain player was anchoring.
A major fix to a minor problem
When golf’s governing bodies made the decision to ban anchored putting, a big part of the discussion had to do with their concern over the rise in popularity of belly putters and their increased use among tour players and younger players. The problem is that segment of golf’s participants comprises less than 1 percent of those who play the game.
Most players who used anchored putters were just the regular Joes trying desperately to find something that would help them get through a putting slump or a case of the yips. If golf’s governing bodies really wanted to stem the supposed tide of adoption without hurting the regular guy or gal, they could have just worked with the PGA Tour to adopt a policy restricting their use in major competition.
Just about every young amateur that has any game at all dreams of playing in the big show, and kids emulate their idols. You should have seen the near perfect cross-handed impression of Jordan Spieth I witnessed from a 10-year-old at an event recently, but I digress.
You’re not going to see kids adopting things that won’t be allowable once they do qualify to play in a big event some day, and if the Tour players weren’t using them, it wouldn’t be long before anchored putters would be seen by the next generation as an old-man’s club that no decent player would be caught dead with.
Discrimination and abuse
Success after the broomstick? Adam Scott is proving it’s possible, but can average golfers find the same success?
If you’ve read the text of the new rule or have seen the posters the USGA spent considerable expense putting out, one thing becomes immediately apparent. Despite all they hysteria over belly-putting, the new rule likely impacts golfers who used long putters, or the broomstick-style of putting the most.
Anchoring your forearms against your body is OK if you’re putting traditionally, but it’s not if your putter is longer and/or you’re using a split-hand grip with the top hand inverted? I guess the USGA figured out pretty quickly that certain body types (read big bellies) wouldn’t be able to putt even in a traditional manner if they just said your forearms can’t touch your body, so they came up with an interpretation that would leave those guys alone while still attempting to eliminate any similar stabilizing ability for those with a longer wand.
The way the rule is written, it’s OK for me to anchor my forearms against my sides (read: belly) as long as I don’t invert the top one and or split the hands. But if I essentially do the same thing with my top hand hanging down, as long as the hands at least touch each other (read: aren’t split) I’m good? According to the rules I am, but if you’re confused by now without the aid of all the fancy infographics that the USGA has provided us then you get my point.
Timing
Golf’s highly publicized drop in participation over the past half-dozen years is nothing to sneeze at. And at a time when we need to be doing most everything we can to not only attract new players, but retain the players we have, we don’t need to be doing anything that turns off many avid players to playing or playing more. And I’m sure the level of discouragement I’ve seen among a handful of players at my own club is going on simultaneously around the country and the world.
When the Mayo Clinic studied the yips a few years back, they did one survey whose results claimed that upward of 25 percent of the people who gave up golf did so because of the yips. An estimated 10-15 percent of players used some form of a long or anchored putter to help them play this great game before the ban. Now I don’t think all of those golfers are going to just up and quit. Many will grumble, adjust, and move on to some other putting method that allows them to putt just poorly enough to stay in the game at some level, but is that really what we want? Do we want to make the game less enjoyable for people who already love it, and at the same time run the risk of taking the fun out of it for a small percentage so much so that they consider giving it up?
A Fix
So now that I’ve told you essentially why I believe this crusade against the unconventional among us is more than just a bit wrong-headed, let me tell you what we could and should have done instead, and how we can walk it back a bit.
In my heart of hearts, I agree with the sentiment behind what the USGA and R&A were trying to do. I’m a traditionalist and want to see the game’s great traditions preserved and respected. But long and belly putters have been around for a long time now, so I think at this point they almost qualify. If we are really hard set on banning anchoring, not the length of our putters, I get that. It would have been much simpler, fairer, easier to enforce, and would have created far less confusion, however, if Rule 14-1b simply said:
No part of the club may touch any part of the body other than the hands, and the hands are considered to be part of the club.
That’s it.
With that change, all this anchoring stuff would have been a moot point. It would have left Langer and most of his broomstick brethren alone, but would have essentially eliminated most forms of anchoring (like the scary belly-putter phenomenon) in a way that would have been far easier to enforce and interpret.
How can we walk it back? That one’s easy, and while the USGA and R&A may have a bit of egg on their face in the short term, a statement about the difficulty of enforcement of the rule under how it’s currently written would satisfy most players and allow them to save face while creating an enormous amount of goodwill among a segment of players that they have at this point alienated.
Everyone makes mistakes, but ultimately, the people we most respect own up, learn, and grow from those mistakes. And what we should learn from this one is that, despite the best of intentions, this wasn’t the best move we could have made and it certainly didn’t come at the best time.
I’d love to hear what you think.
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Another Open Championship has come and gone and links golf was once again in the spotlight at Royal Troon! For those who have never played a links course (like myself), it sparks a desire to fly across the pond to experience it for ourselves. While a golf trip to the UK or Ireland is a bucket-list item, most people look to play the big-name courses (Old Course, Carnoustie, Lahinch, Royal Portrush,etc.), but don’t realize they can get a similar experience by traveling to some of the lesser known destinations where you will find some of the purest links courses in the world. With this in mind, here are our picks for the best hidden gem links courses you should play when you book a UK or Ireland trip:
IRELAND
We start our list off with a 36-hole club in the Northwest of Ireland, a remote area of the Emerald Isle that is known for its rugged terrain and spectacular scenery. Bordering the Wild Atlantic Way, Ballyliffin is relatively newer (est. 1947) but offers golfers one of the purest links golf experiences anywhere in the country. While not easy to get to, the two courses onsite (Old and Glashedy) are well worth the travel with large dunes shaping the fairways that overlook the North Atlantic Ocean and a myriad of pot bunkers everywhere you look. Even Rory McIlroy believes that “Ballyliffin’s two courses are a must play on any golf trip to Ireland.” and we tend to agree.
How to incorporate Ballyliffin in a golf trip:
Stay:Ballyliffin Lodge, Hotel & Spa
Play: Old Links & Glashedy Links at Ballyliffin, and Old Tom Morris Links or Sandy Hills Course at Rosapenna
The next course on the list is in the Sligo area of the Northwest where we find Enniscrone, roughly 3 hours (by car) south of Ballyliffin. Like many links courses, Enniscrone was originally a 9-hole course when it was opened in 1918 before an additional 9 holes were added 12 years later. In 1970, Eddie Hackett was tasked with redesigning the course to help the two 9-hole courses flow effortlessly into one 18 hole layout. A big feature that can be seen throughout your round here are the towering dunes that shape the course and protect some holes from the ocean winds. Built right out of the landscape of the dunes bordering the sea, the course has a lot of undulation in the fairways and greens with some elevated tee boxes providing unreal views of the natural land.
How to incorporate Enniscrone in a golf trip:
Stay: The Glasshouse Hotel, Sligo
Play: Enniscrone, County Sligo, and Donegal
Additional Courses: Strandhill, Carne, and Narin & Portnoo
Another fantastic gem on the Northwest coast of Ireland is the NEW (2020) St. Patricks Links at Rosapenna Hotel & Golf Links. The land was purchased back in 2012 which was already a 36-hole facility and Tom Doak was brought in to reimagine the property to the layout it currently is today. Large sand dunes shape the front 9 holes before heading back through some more subtle dunes back towards the clubhouse. The course offers elevation changes with some tee boxes sitting atop the dunes offering spectacular views of Sheephaven Bay and beyond. With two other courses and a fantastic hotel on property, this destination is all you could ever ask for.
How to incorporate St. Patricks in a golf trip:
Stay: Rosapenna Hotel & Golf Links
Play: St. Patrick’s Links, Sandy Hills Course , and Old Tom Morris Links (all at Rosapenna)
For our last hidden gem in Ireland, we head 30 minutes north of the country’s capital, Dublin, to The Island Club. Built along rugged terrain and the highest sand dunes on the east coast of Ireland, the Island Club is situated on a small peninsula surrounded by water on three sides providing a difficult challenge, especially with the winds. Founded in 1890, the Island Club continues to be ranked in the Top 10 courses in Ireland and has held some Amateur Championships and Open Championship Regional Qualifiers.
How to incorporate The Island Club in a golf trip:
Stay: The Grand Hotel, Malahide
Play: Island Club, Portmarnock Old, County Louth
Additional Courses: Royal Dublin
SCOTLAND
Located along “Scotland’s Golf Coast” of East Lothian is where we find the classic links of Dunbar. Opened in 1856 with only 15 holes, this is one of the many courses in Scotland that Old Tom Morris had a hand in crafting. Laid out along rocky and rocky terrain, the course is only 6500 yards long and while not long by modern standards, the course requires shot making and proper club selection to play well. The course has held many national and international tournaments including a few rounds of The Open Final Qualifying.
How to incorporate Dunbar in a golf trip:
Stay: No. 12 Hotel & Bistro
Play: Dunbar, Gullane (No.1), North Berwick
Additional Courses: Craigielaw, Kilspindie, Gullane (No.2, No. 3)
The next course on our list brings us to the Scottish Highlands, one of the lesser traveled destinations in Scotland, but still home to some amazing links courses including Cruden Bay! Located 25 miles north of Aberdeen on the east coast of the Highlands, Cruden Bay was opened in 1899, although history would indicate golf has been played at the property since 1791. Another Old Tom Morris design, the course is consistently ranked in the Top 25 of courses in Scotland and it is easy to see why. At only 6600 yards, it is relatively short, but the natural lay of the land provides elevation changes, punchbowl greens, and some large, 3-story high dunes that offer spectacular views for a classic links experience.
How to incorporate Cruden Bay in a golf trip:
Stay: Leonardo Hotel Aberdeen
Play: Cruden Bay, Trump International Links, Royal Aberdeen
Additional Courses: Murcar
We head back to the Highlands just north of Dornoch to where we find Brora Golf Club. Similar to a lot of links courses, Brora opened as only 9 holes in 1891, but that only lasted for 9 years before an additional 9 was added in 1900 before a James Braid redesign in 1924. At just over 6200 yards, this is one of those courses that will make you appreciate links golf in Scotland with cattle and sheep roaming freely around the property. The course is a typical links routing with the front 9 going out and the back 9 coming back to the clubhouse. The defense of the course is the wind (naturally), but the greens are relatively small with pot bunkers standing guard to catch errant approach shots.
How to incorporate Brora in a golf trip:
Stay: Royal Golf Hotel, Dornoch
Play: Brora, Royal Dornoch – Struie & Championship
Additional Courses: Golspie, Tain
Staying in the Scottish Highlands, the last Scotland links gem on the list is just outside of Inverness at The Nairn Golf Club. The narrow fairways are fast and firm leading to decent sized, tricky greens that roll true, but are guarded by devious pot bunkers. The first seven holes play right along the water and with not a ton of elevation changes, spectacular views across the Moray Firth can be seen throughout the course. With fantastic course conditions throughout the season, this fantastic links is an absolute must-play when visiting the Highlands.
How to incorporate Nairn in a golf trip:
Stay: Kingsmills Hotel, Inverness
Play: Nairn, Castle Stuart (Cabot Highlands), Fortrose & Rosemarkie
Additional Courses: Nairn Dunbar, Moray
Golfbreaks by PGA TOUR highly recommends you start planning your trip across the pond AT LEAST 12-18 months in advance in order to secure tee times and hotel rooms over the dates you desire. With more and more people taking up the game of golf, these bucket list trips have already become extremely popular and will continue to gain interest so make sure to start planning early!
RELATED: Open Championship courses you can play (and when the best time to book is)
Editor’s note: This article is presented in partnership with Golfbreaks. When you make a purchase through links in this article, GolfWRX may earn an affiliate commission.
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The final major of 2024 is nearly here as the top golfers head to Scotland’s southwestern coast to battle for the claret jug at Royal Troon. Golf’s original major dates all the way back to 1860 and has been played at 14 different courses throughout the United Kingdom (yes, this includes Northern Ireland) providing countless memories including celebrations, heartbreak, and unique moments that will never be forgotten (looking at you Jordan Spieth).
With The Open teeing off less than a week from now, we wanted to highlight some of The Open Championship’s finest links courses that should play when you make the journey to golf’s homeland:
- Old Course at St. Andrews
- Carnoustie
- Muirfield
- Royal Portrush
- Royal Troon
- Royal Birkdale
- Royal St George’s
Old Course at St. Andrews
Do we even need to say anything else? The “Home of Golf”, host of 30 Open Championships, the most coveted tee time in the WORLD, there are a million reasons to have St. Andrews on your links golf bucket list. From the double greens, to the tee shot over the Old Course Hotel, to the walk up 18th fairway with the town buildings framing a picturesque scene (especially at dusk), every golfer should make the voyage to St Andrews at least once in their life.
Carnoustie
Carnoustie – Championship Course
Roughly 25 miles north of St. Andrews lies the devious links of Carnoustie, often recognized by the large white Carnoustie Golf Hotel as the backdrop of the 18th green. While the course has only hosted The Open 8 times, it is considered to be one of the hardest layouts in The Open rota (just ask Jean Van de Velde) although not that long, playing just under 7000 yards from the tips.
Muirfield
Located right next to this week’s host of Scottish Open (The Renaissance Club), this fantastic links layout has hosted the prestigious Championship 16 times since 1892. The narrow fairways and penal rough requires precise shots off the tee while avoiding the devious pot bunkers is a must. The course is set away from the coastline so you won’t get the sweeping ocean views, but a round at Muirfield is one the premier tee times in all of Scotland (so make sure you book early – 12-18 months at least).
Royal Portrush
A view of the new 572 yards par 5, seventh hole designed by Martin Ebert on the Dunluce Course at Royal Portrush Golf Club the host club for the 2019 Open Championship in Portrush, Northern Ireland. © 2018 Rob Durston
Our next stop brings us across the Irish Sea to the northern coast of Northern Ireland and the popular Royal Portrush. Having hosted The Open only twice in its illustrious history, Royal Portrush is a golfer’s dream with 36 holes of pure links golf set against a gorgeous backdrop of the ocean and cliffs. The Open Championship will return to Portrush in 2025 and YOU CAN BE THERE to watch it all in person!
Royal Troon
TROON – JULY 26: General view of the ‘Postage Stamp’ par 3, 8th hole taken during a photoshoot held on July 26, 2003 at the Royal Troon Golf Club, venue for the 2004 Open Championships, in Troon, Scotland. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
The host of this year’s Open Championship, Royal Troon is home to one of the best par-3 holes in all of golf, “The Postage Stamp.” A downhill 125-yard tee shot to a minuscule green surrounded by bunkers on all sides makes it one of the more challenging holes. Another hole that adds to the challenge is the 601-yard par 5 that used to be the longest golf hole in Open Championship history. This year will be the 10th Open Championship held at Royal Troon, the first since 2016 when Mickelson and Stenson had a battle for the ages in the final round.
Royal Birkdale
For the next course on the list, we have to head down to the northwest coast of England just outside of Liverpool. Consistently ranked in the Top 10 courses in all the UK, this 10-time host of The Open has hosted many other prestigious events such as Ryder Cups, Women’s Opens, and more! The course is laid out with fairways running through flat-bottomed valleys surrounded by high dunes which provide many blind shots throughout the course. The Open returns to Royal Birkdale in 2026 so it won’t be long before it is back in the spotlight.
Royal St. George’s
For the final course on our list, we are staying in England, but heading across to the southeastern side of the country to Kent. Royal St. George’s is 4th on the list of most Open Championships hosted with 15 (1 behind Muirfield) the most recent being Collin Morikawa’s victory in 2021. RSG is the only active course on The Open rota in this part of the UK, but two former hosts (Prince’s and Royal Cinque Ports) are within 3 miles of the property. The expansive course is laid out with holes separated by dunes with heavy rough, undulating fairways, and deep pot bunkers to challenge your game. While it may not be mentioned in the discussions of St. Andrews, Carnoustie, and the like, Royal St. George’s is still a Championship layout that is worth the trip across the pond.
With these big-name courses in such high demand, it is important to note that if you want to play them, you need to start planning your trip early. Golfbreaks by PGA TOUR, the world’s #1 rated golf tour operator, suggests planning and booking your trip at least 12-18 months in advance in order to secure a tee time at the courses you want. The UK & Ireland specialists at Golfbreaks by PGA TOUR have the knowledge to help tailor the perfect golf trip for your group so you can play big-name courses and hidden gems you might not have heard of. If you’re ready to start planning your bucket list trip across the pond, make life easier and go with Golfbreaks by PGA TOUR.
Editor’s note: This article is presented in partnership with Golfbreaks. When you make a purchase through links in this article, GolfWRX may earn an affiliate commission.
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The 2025 Ryder Cup matches will be held over the sprawling, bruising, Long Island acreage known as Bethpage Black State Park Golf Course. The course has hosted multiple national championships, most recently the 2019 PGA Championship. In September 2025, Bethpage Black will welcome teams from the USA and Europe to contest the 45th Ryder Cup matches. Team Europe, the defending champions, will be led again by captain Luke Donald. The U.S. PGA has not yet announced the name of its leader, yet all sources and speculations point to a 15-time major champion and an eight-time participant in the biennial event.
Bethpage Black will join Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester (1995) as the second Empire State course to host the event. The Ryder Cup matches were played in the metropolitan New York area once before, in 1935 at the Ridgewood Club, in Paramus, New Jersey. It’s fair to say that metro NYC is due to host this world-stage, golf event. I can’t wait. The USA’s loss to Europe in 2023 adds to the considerable drama.
What makes Bethpage Black an outlier in the world of championship golf, is its mere existence. It’s a state park golf course, one of five on property, each with a colorful name. The Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow join big brother Black as outstanding tests of golf in Farmingdale. Of the five, only the Green was not originally built as a state course. The Lenox Hills Country Club, designed by Devereux Emmet, opened in 1923. By 1932, the club had closed and the land had become property of the state. Its birth date made the Green the oldest of the five courses. New York State began to build on a series of adjacent parcels, guided by the hands of Alber “A.W.” Tillinghast, Joseph Burbeck, and Alfred Tull. The Yellow course, built entirely by Tull, was the last of the five to open.
State park courses just don’t hold major championships. Private clubs and elite resorts are the typical sites that receive the nod from the world’s golf bodies. It’s a testament to the lovers of Bethpage, the New York state government, and the PGA of America (among others) that Bethpage is as good as it is, and that it continues to improve. It’s a fitting site for the 2025 Ryder Cup matches, but the 2025 Ryder Cup matches need a beginning to their story. I’ll do my best to provide it.
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- Bethpage Yellow Golf Course
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- Bethpage Black Golf Course
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- Bethpage Red Golf Course
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- Bethpage Yellow Golf Course
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- Bethpage Black Golf Course
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- Bethpage Green Golf Course
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- Bethpage Blue Golf Course
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- Bethpage Red and Black Golf Courses
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- Bethpage Green Golf Course
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- Bethpage Red Golf Course
The quintet of courses near Bethpage, New York, is just the beginning of the New York state park golf course system. 19 parks in total offer golf from the tip of Long Island, to the shores of Lake Ontario, through the Catskill mountains, to my home town. I’m a Western New York guy. The Buffalo area has been my home for most of my 58 years on the golf ball known as Earth. I live two miles from the westernmost, state park golf course: Beaver Island. The Beav, as everyone calls it, was designed by William Harries. It opened the year I was born, which means that it is close to 60 years old! Unlike the Bethpage property, where topography is king, the Beav is a flat course, albeit full of enough interest to bring you back for more.
As I considered the magnitude of the state park system, I realized that golfers who frequent those 19 state parks can point to their home course and say, “You know, the Ryder Cup will be at a state park course next year.” I started to count on my fingers, the number of state park courses I had played: Beaver Island, Green Lakes (Syracuse), James Baird (Poughkeepsie), and the five at Bethpage, I realized that I had played eight of the 23 total courses, and had visited a mere four of the 19 parks.
Bethpage is the only, multi-course state park across the Empire State. Other venues range from pitch-and-putt, to nine-hole, to regulation 18-hole courses. The majority occupy nice tracts of land, and feature 18 holes of memorable, enjoyable golf. PGA Tour professionals Joey Sindelar and Mike Hulbert grew up on one of those courses, and Dottie Pepper spent a bit of time on another, near her hometown.
There will be many stories that trace the path to Bethpage and its 2025 Ryder Cup, and I look forward to reading and hearing them. This one is my own, and I’m proud (and a little frightened) to undertake it. I’ll visit each of the remaining parks over the next 16 months, and report in with images and words that tell the story of each park and its golf course.
The Ones I’ve Played
The Bethpage Five
As mentioned above, I’ve played eight of the 23 courses, but the majority of that number is owed to a 2011 pilgrimage to Long Island. The Black had just hosted its second US Open championship, and the ink for the 2019 PGA Championship was not yet printed. I spoke with a Bethpage caddy, in anticipation of the trek. I wrote a series of articles on the courses on my own site, BuffaloGolfer. Down the road of this, current series, I’ll discuss the most poignant piece that I connected with Bethpage. That’s a story for another time. After all, Bethpage is a five-course meal.
It’s safe to say the the Bethpage property is unlike any other, municipal, golfing space in the world (at least, those not named the Links Trust of St. Andrews!) The park encompasses nearly 1500 acres of wooded land and offers much beyond golf to its visitors. As pilgrimages go, Bethpage is it. For a New York state resident, on a weekend, it would cost a total of $257 dollars … to play all five courses. Even for those outside the state, the trip to Bethpage is worth consideration. Each course rambles over uneven, heaving land. Holes carry along falloffs and bend unexpectedly around corners. Greens are benched into hillsides and settled into valleys. All five courses remind you of the others, yet none of them says to you “You’ve played this course before.”
James Baird State Park
One of the hats that I wear, is high school golf coach. Each spring, golfers from my team travel to Poughkeepsie to play the James Baird State Park golf course. Pronounced “Bard,” the course was opened in 1948, after a middle-aged, Robert Trent Jones, senior, put pen to paper to lay out the course. Jones was about to become a household name, as he would offer renovation advice to many of the country’s classic clubs. He was most famously associated with the Oakland Hills Country Club near Detroit, the host site of the 1951 US Open. You know, the one where Ben Hogan purportedly gasped “I’m glad I brought this course, this monster, to its knees.”
Trent didn’t leave a monster in Poughkeepsie. What he left was something that locals call Baby Bethpage. The James Baird course is blessed with topography similar to its five-course cousin, but it offered a challenge that Bethpage does not: a huge expanse of marsh across the belly of the property. There was not going over nor through it, so Jones simply went around it. He created something that he never, ever did: a short par three. Jones was a fan of the brutish, 200-yard plus, all-carry, par three hole. For the third hole at Baird, he had all of 120 yards, and it was downhill! Jones placed a green in the marsh, connected to the mainland by an earthen bridge. He then turned north for a time, then returned south, outside the marsh. Trent Jones had another stretch of tricky land to navigate, this time, on the inward half. He brought a trio of holes (pars 4-3-5) through a challenging corner of the property, before returning to the open meadow that hosts the majority of the layout.
James Baird is a tremendous golf course, one that prepares our high school competitors well for the next step: the state federation championship at, you guessed it, Bethpage Black. Six golfers move on to compete against other, high school divisions, at the big brother of them all.
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- James Baird State Park
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- James Baird State Park
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- James Baird State Park
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- James Baird State Park
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- James Baird State Park
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- James Baird State Park
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- James Baird State Park
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- James Baird State Park
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- James Baird State Park
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- James Baird State Park
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- James Baird State Park
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- James Baird State Park
Green Lakes
The Baird course came to life 13 years after Trent Jones opened his first, New York state parks course. Originally from Rochester, New York, Trent ventured 90 minutes east to Manlius, near Syracuse, in 1935, to lay out one of his first ten courses. RTJ was gifted the magnificent land that abuts the two glacial lakes in central New York. The lakes are meromictic, which we all know means that surface and bottom waters do not mix in the fall and spring, as happens with dimictic lakes.
Trent Jones placed his clubhouse and finishing greens (9 and 18) in an interesting portion of the property. The ninth hole is an uphill, par five that plays fifty yards longer than its measured distance. Once home to upper and lower greens, the lower has been expanded and enhanced, and the upper is now abandoned. On the other side of the clubhouse, the sneaky 18th moves out of a corridor of trees, into the open space beneath the clubhouse. It’s a bit reminiscent of the 18th at Bethpage’s Green course. It’s not a long hole, yet when you walk off with five or six on your card, you wonder where you went astray.
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- Green Lakes State Park
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- Green Lakes State Park
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- Green Lakes State Park
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- Green Lakes State Park
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- Green Lakes State Park
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- Green Lakes State Park
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- Green Lakes State Park
The front half of the course plays along a vast meadow, above Green Lake, the larger of the two, nautical bodies. The inward side forages among the tree above Round Lake, before finally emerging at the home hole. The apparent contrariety of the two nines is resolved through expansion of fairway corridors on the treed nine, and the constriction of playing paths with bunkers and doglegs, on the exposed side.
If you’re a walker, Green Lakes will make you a fit one. It will also demand all the clubs and shots that you can fit in your bag.
Beaver Island
“Tame” isn’t the proper term to describe Beaver Island, the state park course near my home. I believe that “calm” is a better term. It may seem ironic, given that the 1965 course occupies a tract of land at the southern tip of Grand Island, where the Niagara River splits east and west, before reuniting at the north end. When we think of the Niagara, we think of the mighty rapids and cascades near the brink and bottom of the falls. At the southern split of the river, however, you can throw a canoe in the water and have a paddle. Beaver Island knows that it is adjacent to the river, but you never get the sense that this golf course borders water. I’ve redesigned the park hundreds of times in my head, moving the golf course to the banks of the river, where the trails, beach, playground, and other amenities are currently found. In the end, not every great golf course can, nor should, be built.
William Harries trained under the famed competitor and architect, Walter Travis. Despite this exposure to the master, Harries went his own way with his golf courses. The most striking difference is in green construction. While Travis was extraordinarily creative and daring, Harries was the polar opposite. His greens are routinely flat and easy to navigate.
He designed a number in the western New York area, including Brookfield Country Club. Originally known as Meadow Brook, the club hosted the 1948 Western Open, won by the aforementioned, Ben Hogan. The majority of Harries’ work was in municipal courses, and he designed Sheridan Park for the town of Tonawanda. That course hosted the 1962 USGA Public Links championship.
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- Beaver Island State Park
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- Beaver Island State Park
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- Beaver Island State Park
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- Beaver Island State Park
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- Beaver Island State Park
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- Beaver Island State Park
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- Beaver Island State Park
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- Beaver Island State Park
On Grand Island, Harries traced his layout around three ponds. The massive, western one, comes into play on the second through fifth holes. The middle one plays games with the approach to the eighth green. The final one, on the inward side, forces golfers to carry their tee shot over water, to the 14th fairway. Beaver Island bears no resemblance to the topography of the other locales mentioned previously. There is no heaving, no tumbling, no turbulence, along its fairways. Beaver Island is more St. Andrews in its flattish presentation, which makes it an honest, what-you-see, sort of golf course. It’s an enjoyable walk in the park, a not-too-demanding one.
Part Two: south-central New York-Soaring Eagles, Chenango Valley, Indian Hills, and Bonavista
Ryder Cup Trophy @ Bethpage – Photo courtesy of PGA of America
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Dennis
Jun 8, 2022 at 11:24 am
simple fix is to limit the length of the putter to about 38 inches.
Richard J Coon
Aug 31, 2018 at 4:06 pm
When in comes to integrity, perception is reality. I would urge a length restriction on the putter.
dtruman
Feb 8, 2018 at 7:42 pm
There have been some video clips showing that Langer was anchoring and there have been some also showing him not anchoring. I suggest they warn him that they will be monitoring him very closely for five tournaments. Then compare it to five tournaments he is not monitored. If there is a significant difference, then further investigating will be needed.
peter collins
Dec 8, 2017 at 2:46 pm
I don’t want to spend my time when playing, to see if my partner is anchoring his putter.
The moment he pulls that thing out of his bag, my game is over.
ALF
Oct 30, 2017 at 2:06 am
I will not watch Champions Golf until these cheaters are forced to change their ways. Thanks. I needed to vent. The “ruling bodies “ have ceased to rule.
Felchone
Oct 29, 2017 at 4:22 pm
Golf’s hard and if long putters or anchoring make it more enjoyable for some than whats the issue? Offset drivers, super gi irons, perimeter weighting, adjustable jumbo drivers, hybrids, speedfoam, jailbreak, juiced balls, graphite shafts, super grooves, blah, blah, blah, blah. Every one of these things exists to make the game easier for the user, and we all have at least some of them in our bags. Play the game against yourself and the course the way you’re supposed to, and lets not be blind to our own hypocrisy.
Steve
Oct 27, 2017 at 1:14 pm
One of the main reasons we are still revisiting this issue is because of B Langer — whose reputation and likeability are sacred. Scotty McC should be donating a portion of his winnings to Langer, cuz if McCarron were the lone ranger on this, he would likely have been DQ’d and fighting this in court. With Langer, he has a shield and immunity for the foreseeable future.
Felipe Aspillaga
Oct 27, 2017 at 8:48 am
If you think little Tommy Morrison (and others with super-human abilities) is an incredible inspiration and is great for the game of golf, although your rule suggestion is simple, it would render his swing “illegal”…and a travesty.
Jacked_Loft
Oct 27, 2017 at 5:05 am
The USGA and the R&A are simply archaic in thier thoght processes. Imagine where the high jump would be today if the “Fosbery Flop” had been deemed non-conforming.
097
Oct 27, 2017 at 10:49 am
The Olympics is archaic. Imagine if we didn’t have the Olympics. We would be in far more peaceful world without ugly competition, and drug, HGH and Roid-free.
Old Gaffer
Oct 27, 2017 at 1:38 am
Everybody is an expert on politics, religion, sports, sex … and long putters 😉
Tour Grinder
Oct 26, 2017 at 4:52 pm
Tom Watson has spoken numerous times on this very subject…very intelligently and very convincingly. Yet, because he’s over 60 and pushing 70, fewer and fewer people want to listen to him. Watson’s putting went south years ago due to y*ps, especially short putting, but he never went to any longer putters or anchored putting because he didn’t believe it was right or proper. He’s not a stick in the mud or someone who tests a hypothesis by using his wife’s clubs; he’s just a Hall of Famer who knows what he’s talking about. Idea for next article: get Watson interviewed and with quotes. All the people who seem to believe it doesn’t matter, or doesn’t establish an unfair advantage would fade into the woodwork.
JJVas
Oct 27, 2017 at 1:08 pm
Nah, we’ll just pass on his reactionary views quicker than the entire Ryder Cup crew did. How did that end up working out? If he wasn’t so archaic in his thinking, maybe he would have won a major after my 8th birthday.
Tommy
Nov 25, 2017 at 8:38 pm
Really!?….you’re going to criticize Tom Watson’s competitive record? Good luck with that.
2putttom
Oct 28, 2017 at 7:21 pm
there are arguments for and against the use of the “long putters” on tour. If it has a distinct advantage for a player in competition the more of the pro’s would have used them.
Tour Grinder
Oct 29, 2017 at 10:44 am
This is why they should mandate college classes in philosophic logic. Nobody wants to think or reason logically anymore. The longer putters and anchored putters are NOT a DISTINCT advantage for EVERY golfer. Nobody ever said or claimed that. They are only a DISTINCT advantage for those golfers who can no longer putt with reasonable nerves, without flinching and yipping. In other words, these are nothing but crutches for those who can no longer function successfully with anything else. Yes, if these implements had been a distinct advantage for EVERY golfer, then yes, every golfer would be using them. Nobody’s ever said that. If Brad Faxon could putt better with a long or anchored putter, he would have done so years ago. But his methods and techniques and putter length are ideal for him, personally. However, anchored putters were indeed an advantage for the golfers who NEEDED them and appreciated them being a DISTINCT advantage. I can no longer hit a bullet-straight drive 300+ yards down the middle of the fairway anymore. Should I be allowed some kind of new or “non-archaic” club or implement to allow me to hit a drive automatically straight down the middle 300 yards? If I invented one, would that automatically make me a “with it” golfer of today?
M. Vegas
Oct 26, 2017 at 3:44 pm
I don’t think a player should be allowed to tap the ball in with the back of his/her putter….
That’s not the intended use, 2 stroke penalty
Anthony
Nov 2, 2017 at 7:31 pm
Well that’s a silly comment, what about the good old Bullseye double sided putter? that’s ancient and still allowed? As long as you make a stroke at the ball, putt it in with ya bloody hybrid or wedge….
RG
Oct 26, 2017 at 3:20 pm
If long putters or anchoring was an advantage,or made one a better putter I would do it. I do not. That argument is ridiculous. It’s just like box grooves, they do not make you a better player. Has ANYTHING happened to scoring since these two things have been banned? NO! The USGA and R7A simply need justification for their existence so every few years they make up some new rule or eliminate some old rule. None of it matters.
I recently did an experiment. I played a whole round of golf using my fiancee’s clubs. Pink shafted generic set. Used only the worst balls I could find out of my shag bag. shot 78 from 6800 at Harmony. It doesnt matter guys. I didnt like the feel. I hated the look, but I hit it straight, I got uo and down and I made putts, WITH HER PUTTER! If you have a swing you can whitle a tree branch and hit a ball. If you can putt, you can putt. If you cant anchoring or square grooves aint gonna help ya.
Jim
Oct 26, 2017 at 9:28 am
Your solution sounds good, but where does it leave Pro golfers like Matt Kucher and Wes Simpson?? They anchor to the left forearm.
Rulez
Oct 26, 2017 at 1:05 pm
You mean Kuchar and Webb? lol
alanp
Oct 26, 2017 at 7:23 am
did the author just wake up from a time capsule?
Jeffrey
Oct 26, 2017 at 3:49 am
Get the ball in the hole anyway you want with what ever you want. Sounds like fun to me.
Rulez
Oct 26, 2017 at 1:06 pm
Aaaaaah and there’s the rub. They should ban the use of any club except the putter on the greens in the modern game, but allow for spike marks to be fixed. That’s more important. No more belly wedges, no more hybrids on the greens, etc.
Steve
Oct 26, 2017 at 1:17 am
If your not going to outlaw a long putter then why in world would you outlaw how some one uses it?? Did they outlaw players for the way they swing a golf club because Jim Furyk sure makes a lot of money with the way he found to use golf clubs…John Daly has become a folk legend over swinging his clubs and isn’t that a miss use of a club and a huge advantage for him (in the past). How about a right handed guy playing left handed? Is there a rule a player cannot be in motion while making a stroke, can a player place the ball two feet behind his back foot and hit it from there….how about the player that holds his wedge (anchored) by his two hands and just turns his body back and forward chipping the ball?? Ban the club or do not ban how it is used…
The dude
Oct 25, 2017 at 9:26 pm
Biomech……(mic drop)
Cir
Oct 25, 2017 at 7:50 pm
I think we should also get rid of alignment aids like different colors and lines, as well as mallet putters that are bigger than 10cm x 10cm. I mean who wants to putt with contraptions that have red, black, white or circles for alignment aid, anyways? lol
Mike Mielenz
Oct 25, 2017 at 7:31 pm
Peter Dawson, the head of the R&A, made a little-noticed comment several years ago that was reported by The Golf Channel. Peter had just witnessed a player at a tournament putt with a long putter and said to an associate, “That doesn’t look right. I’m going to do something about that.” He then basically held the USGA hostage under threat of bifurcating the rules, by saying that the R&A was going to rule against long putters and if the USGA didn’t agree to go along, the R&A were going to go their own way. Under threat of having the rules different at the USA and Mexico than elsewhere in the world, with the resulting confusion among worldwide tournament players, Mike Davis took the high road and got the USGA to agree to go along with the ban, assuming a reasonable rule could be found. What followed was a lengthy period where both ruling bodies finally settled on doing away with anchoring as a solution to the long putter problem, in the absence of another way to get rid of the long putters. After all, a 40″ putter might be traditional length for someone 6″ 6″, while it could be a chest-length putter for someone 5′ 0″, so specifying length would not be logical. All this was done to placate Peter Dawson, who then retired. I then suggested to Mike Davis that with Peter gone the rule might be rescinded, but he declined to re-open the issue with so much water having gone over the dam. So thanks to Peter Dawson for opening this can of worms in the first place, and meanwhile the long putters he determined to do away with are still around.
Rulez
Oct 26, 2017 at 3:34 am
Small balls? That’s also how it was with the R&A. Until somebody realized that it’s easier to make money making the same balls and selling it all over the world.
After all, equipment is a large part of how the industry moves itself along.
Mike
Oct 25, 2017 at 6:49 pm
It’s all too simple to fix: Max length of any club should be 40″
Rulez
Oct 26, 2017 at 3:34 am
You mean any putters. Not any club.
mlecuni
Oct 26, 2017 at 8:24 am
+1 for any putters
nobody2u
Oct 25, 2017 at 4:13 pm
I got tired of reading and just wanted to probably repeat the real old guy’s that started playing in the 50’s. Langer should have never been able to use the long putter, he should never been able to play as slow as he does. In my opinion he single hand-idly ruined the true game. I’m glad that something is being done about about it even after he has won everything that could be won. So what if he stops winning, he should have a pile of cash higher than a show dog can jump over by now anyway. He started doing it and it caused a bunch of guys to start winning that turned it into rubbing it in the other guy’s faces. Wipe that s##t eating grin off the illegal club users and get it back to real golf. PS, I’m not going to read any more articles after I finish this, the crybaby’s that are using the long putters should form another group and play their own league some place else, like a croquet course in their back yards.
JJVas
Oct 25, 2017 at 4:37 pm
How are those hickory shafted blades treating you? Just don’t cry about it too much, because those tears slow down the greens, and my long putter works better when they’re at 10+.
Tom1
Oct 25, 2017 at 9:45 pm
nobody you don’t watch the champions tour do a?
Steve Frishmuth
Oct 25, 2017 at 3:10 pm
Why not just limit the length of the putter to certain # of inches. …..say 40″….and handle can’t touch your torso
Rulez
Oct 26, 2017 at 3:37 am
Can’t do that, if you have other clubs longer than that, say, your woods? Because in the end, the game is just about getting the ball in the hole, no matter what equipment you use in the bag as long as it’s one of the 14, so you can putt with a driver at 48 inches, if you want.
Jeffrey
Oct 26, 2017 at 4:05 am
Amen.
gregh
Oct 25, 2017 at 3:08 pm
It is just another case of the USGA coming up with a solution to a problem that didn’t exist
JJVas
Oct 25, 2017 at 3:06 pm
A bad back forced this former scratch to use a long putter for the past 23 years. Putting it off my chest by 0.5″ changed nothing. Zero adjustment. If you think Langer is cheating, you’re either misinformed or jealous. He doesn’t need to… there is really no significant difference. The USGA just needs to take a Mulligan here and admit they screwed up. It happens. I know they’re not comfortable watching 10-year olds use belly putters. At least be honest with it and own it. All this rule has done is make me a slower player who has to listen to idiocy now and then from uneducated guys playing golf who don’t understand the rule. Thanks USGA!
BallBuster
Oct 25, 2017 at 2:47 pm
Why is the argument that it gives an unfair advantage so twisted and skewed? No one ever said it flat out gives EVERYONE an unfair advantage across the board who adopts using it. No. Never. It can (and has been shown statistically) however to give an aid SOME of those who struggle with a more traditional style. Using it does not even guarantee it will help either. It “might”. The unfair comes in competition when someone who putts traditional gets beat on say a final putt (for example) by someone who anchors. If you’re by yourself or among friends who don’t care, it shouldn’t matter what one uses. But some feel in competition it should be a bit more leveled out. Stewart Cink in the early 90’s went from being well past the top 100 in putting down to #2 in just 1 year! He directly 100% credited it to the long anchored putting. It was right in an article in Golf Digest. He is the prime example why those who lost money to him were miffed and said it was unfair. Ditto Azinger and recently Scott had much better putting statistics with the anchor method. At least phrase the context of the argument correctly to decide what’s fair.
the bishop
Oct 25, 2017 at 2:04 pm
“We”? You gotta mouse in your pocket? I was against the ban and I’m not, never have been, and never will be a long putter user.
Da Izzlest
Oct 25, 2017 at 2:12 pm
Right? The article’s title led me to believe the author was a USGA guy involved in the ban.
GolfWRX is getting very click bait-y.
Al
Oct 25, 2017 at 2:03 pm
So Kutcher arms would be in violation of your suggestion? As well I agree with Chopper above. Hands touch the club but nowhere in your rule does it state the hands can’t touch the body. Interesting.
J Zilla
Oct 25, 2017 at 1:55 pm
It’s kinda ridiculous the USGA decided to get in the business of regulating swing aesthetics. Regulating the equipment is fine ie length of the putter, size of putter head etc but a player should be allowed to swing a legal club any damn way they want. If it looks bad so what? The USGA should go to the local muni and check out what some real ugly swings look like.
Tom1
Oct 25, 2017 at 9:47 pm
good points J Zilla
anthony aguilar
Oct 25, 2017 at 1:42 pm
Anchoring the putter into the chest or anchoring anywhere to a body part is a definite advantage !!!the putter stays stable at the top of grip and it’s easier to repeat itself the USGA is correct on Banning!!
Jason
Oct 25, 2017 at 2:31 pm
Have you ever tried it?
I have struggled with putting for a good part of the last decade+. I tried a belly (and broom stick) putter.
Yes it does make the putter more stable, but my experience was I lost feeling on the putts. So my lag putting went to hell. I realized “so what if this makes a 3′ putt easier, if I’m lagging it to 6′ instead of 4′ I’m still loosing strokes with the anchored putter.” I personally didn’t think it was worth it and I switched back to a more conventional putter before the ruling even came out.
I’ve talked to numerous people who have putted with an anchored style and they agree it costs you on feel. So in reality it’s just a balancing act between feel & stability. But so is every other equipment decision you make, do you get the 460cc driver to be more accurate when the 430cc one will give you an extra 5 yards?
J Zilla
Oct 25, 2017 at 4:47 pm
If everyone is allowed to do it then it’s not an advantage. Banning it but leaving enough wiggle room in the rules could potentially create room for someone to game the rules and get an advantage, however.
IMHO the only way to create a fair rule would be to allow all players to swing anyway they want but make rules that limit the equipment like say a max height for clubs.
Mike
Oct 25, 2017 at 1:39 pm
To solve it once and for all, Just Ban Broom stick and unconventional putters, all putter grips must conform to standard length to allow hands to be together when making the stroke, so the padded out grip is ok so long as the thumbs touch, if you struggle with a conventional style putter, then do more practice on feel and motion, and try to read the greens better, take a course planner out with you, and stop bloody guessing the breaks, there’s an old adage, if you want to get better at something then practise more on the weaker part of your game, be it Putting, chipping, whatever, you must be dedicated to improving your game, it takes a tidy few hours a week but just do it under supervision if possible.
farmer
Oct 25, 2017 at 1:32 pm
If Langer wasn’t winning, this would not be an issue. Why does he win? He is a superior ball striker and gives himself a lot of birdie opportunities. His putting style is certainly a part of the formula, but not the whole equation.
Tom1
Oct 25, 2017 at 9:50 pm
Bazinga! farmer straight out truth
Christopher
Oct 25, 2017 at 1:13 pm
The thing is, no one player gained an unfair advantage with anchoring, the technology was available to every player at every level, if you wanted to try it you could. It’s not like Taylor Made or Ping had the rights to the clubs or technique and would only allow their staff players to participate.
4 out of 6 majors were won by anchoring and I think the governing bodies thought it looked bad for the game, it didn’t.
Bob Jones
Oct 25, 2017 at 1:08 pm
I am convinced that the only reason the R&A and USGA banned anchored putting was because they were upset by players winning major championships putting that way. Period.
It’s the same reason they rushed in the rule banning croquet-style putting because Bobby Jones got all huffy when he saw Sam Snead putting that way and said, “That’s not golf!” — no good reason at all.
The USGA is trying to grow the game yet they take away from thousands of recreational golfers with yips and bad backs a way they can play the game and enjoy it.
As for “traditional” strokes, people who say swinging a club freely is the “spirit of the game”, please tell when this “spirit” originated. Was there a meeting in 1783 I don’t know about? I thought the spirit of the game was to play the ball from where it lies. But having to swing a club freely? Where does that come from?
The anchor ban was the dumbest thing the USGA could have done, and is the reason why I stopped renewing my membership. If you play with me, you can anchor your putter all day, and even your driver if you want to. The USGA can go (ahem) itself.
JoeyG
Oct 25, 2017 at 3:07 pm
If the anchored long putter is okay with you, why can’t the Snead croquet style putting be okay as well?
The long putter is a greater abomination to the game of golf than croquet putting.
What is so wrong with croquet putting anyway?
J Zilla
Oct 25, 2017 at 6:23 pm
Nothing. The powers that be just don’t like how it looks. Essentially saying, “this is how a golf swing (or putter stroke in this instance) are supposed to look and that’s that!”
Bob Jones
Oct 25, 2017 at 8:26 pm
Absolutely nothing. Isn’t that clear from my remarks?
Jerry
Oct 25, 2017 at 1:05 pm
As Langer says as the video begins, “I do everything the same, really…” I don’t know how any golfer can rehearse the anchor a couple of times, line up and remember to take the club off the chest. He’s also playing for a lot of money … take away any question of anchoring. If you can’t see air between club and chest, assume it’s anchoring.
2putttom
Oct 25, 2017 at 10:01 pm
aww yes, kinda like the bed sheets are wrinkled I know your having an affair assumption
Greg V
Oct 25, 2017 at 12:46 pm
The USGA should be governing equipment, but not how to use it. So long as a player doesn’t scrape or push the ball, any stroke should be permissible. However, no club should be longer than the driver, which has a maximum length of 48″ at present (I think). The USGA made a huge mistake when they allowed the broomstick back in the beginning.
By the way, I brought my belly putter out to my Thursday night league this year and asked around if anyone had a problem with my putting it into play. To a man (and woman), no one said they had a problem with it. I made 4 putts over 10′ that night, which is a rarity for me. And still, no one said I should not use it the next Thursday. However, my handicap did drop precipitously.
Dave
Oct 25, 2017 at 9:04 pm
If you were using an illegal stroke by USGA rules how is the score legal for USGA handicapping purposes?
Greg V
Oct 26, 2017 at 12:05 pm
Aha! The league commissioner establishes handicaps – at his discretion. Some people gripe about them, some don’t, and we manage to have a lot of fun anyway.
Sort of like the old British system where the captain of the club established the handicaps after playing with a member. Hard to sandbag in that system.
DrRob1963
Oct 26, 2017 at 4:20 am
“The USGA made a huge mistake when they allowed the broomstick back in the beginning” is absolutely correct. Broomsticks and anchoring have become part of the game. Trying to ban them now is like trying to get the egg back out of the omelette!
These things need to be addressed when they start, not after they become common around the world, in tournament, social & club play.
Greg V
Oct 25, 2017 at 12:37 pm
I think that the USGA should govern equipment, but should not govern how to use it – beyond the dictum of having to hit the ball instead of scraping or pushing it. The USGA should never have allowed a club to be longer than the length the driver, which I think is 48″ at present.
By the way, whatever happened to the rule that the clubhead should be plain and simple in shape?
Andrew
Oct 25, 2017 at 12:24 pm
Yips and nerves are put of the game. Thumbs must be on the the side of the grip toward the ground.
Dave
Oct 25, 2017 at 9:06 pm
Side of the grip…Which side? Mine are on top of the grip.
John Grossi
Oct 25, 2017 at 12:19 pm
The current rule is not enforceable. I say go back to the way the rule was written a few years ago. As the author stated, if it was a superior way to putt then every golfer, especially the pros, would be using it.
Rona
Oct 25, 2017 at 12:10 pm
In the sport of badminton the serve must be executed with the racquet head below the position of the wrist holding the racquet.
If you add this restriction of to both hands for golf putting along with the putter free of the body which includes the arms your problem would be solved.
Now we have the problem of golfers suffering from the ‘yips’ and sore backs when bending over. For pro golfers this involves their livelihood and a medical exemption could be arranged for the long putter. Medical research indicates that the yips vanish when one of the hands is held at the height of the heart. Belly putting is outright cheating. As for sore backs, that is a structural problem that requires convalescence.
Richard
Oct 25, 2017 at 11:58 am
Selective enforcement of the rules has come along to be the root cause of this mess.
The various revenue streams in the Golf as global spectator entertainment will now drive what eventually emerges.
My personal opinion: the putter should be swung like all the other clubs in the bag, I think there might be a rule that triggers that opinion in my head.
If this had been enforced at the very outset, we would not be in the mess we find today.
Too bad so sad if some guys can’t putt. Maybe we can have trophies for the best ball strikers with every club except putter.
John
Oct 25, 2017 at 11:58 am
the next thing the usga will do is, that tour players are only allowed to use 430cc driver heads, have to play blades and a 3 layer ball.
i mean come on. some of those rules/restrictions are just nonsense.
Shallowface
Oct 25, 2017 at 12:23 pm
The USGA has no authority over the PGA Tour, or anything or anyone else for that matter other than the tournaments it runs. It is largely ignored at every level of play every single day. Winter rules, more than 14 clubs, leaf rules, ignoring the stroke and distance rule for a lost ball, and now the absurdity of not being allowed to post rounds played as a single for handicap purposes (one which I have ignored any number of times this year and will continue to do so), just to site a very few examples.
If the PGA Tour decided to allow ANYTHING it wanted rules wise in the interest of enhancing its product (anchored putters, non conforming equipment, naked female caddies, you name it), it is entirely within its rights to do so. It could even do so without declaring it publicly, as they would likely never want to be seen as being in official conflict with the USGA.
You can write a local rule for anything. I once played a course in Orlando that actually allowed a mulligan off the first tee as one of its local rules. You had to play it if you took it, but it was allowed under a local rule.
But make no mistake. The USGA has no real authority. Only the authority which it is granted at any level. It’s one of the dirty little not so secrets of our wonderful game.
Larry
Oct 25, 2017 at 2:21 pm
That is how recreational golf should be played and I suspect is played by the vast majority of the golfers in the world. It should be encouraged. That will grow the game. If it is discouraged, the game will continue to fade away.
I chop too
Oct 25, 2017 at 11:45 am
Anchoring is immaterial for the majority of players. You start the argument by saying that anchoring has been around for 50 years and has not been widely adopted, so provides no clear advantage. You then support no anchoring allowed based upon tradition. You are not in a rut, you are in a ditch! Very few elements of equipment have been stopped because of tradition; e.g. Balls, metal woods, steel shafts, graphite shafts, etc. Things need to evolve and anti anchoring was a knee jerk response to anchored putters winning 3 tourneys in 1 year.
Kooch
Oct 25, 2017 at 11:12 am
This solves one problem and creates another, namely Matt Kuchar’s putting style where you press the shaft along your forearm and the hand contacts the forearm as well. This is expressly allowed under the current rule, but could be seen as banned under your prospective rule. The whole thing is dumb and should just go back to square one.
Kenny
Oct 25, 2017 at 11:06 am
So that change allows the Langer’s of the world to go back to anchoring, but now makes the Kucher style of putting illegal, right? It seems like it just opens a new can of worms. I agree it would be easier to enforce. I think the rules should just go away. I also putt with a conventional putter.
Jason
Oct 25, 2017 at 11:04 am
NO PART OF THE CLUB MAY TOUCH ANY PART OF THE BODY OTHER THAN THE HANDS, AND THE HANDS ARE CONSIDERED TO BE PART OF THE CLUB.
So based on this change the Matt Kuchar putting style would be illegal? Given that the putter touches his forearm and per that statement the forearm is part of the body (not the club).
Maybe your intent would be to ban Kuchar’s putting style, but if not…
Do you see where it isn’t just “a simple fix”?
Scott
Oct 25, 2017 at 12:03 pm
Would adding “other than the hands or arms, with the hands (only) being considered part of the club.” The USGA and R&A tried to fix a problem that did not exist. I use a traditional style of putter, but I could not care less what someone else uses.
gunmetal
Oct 25, 2017 at 10:59 am
As a guy who used to use a belly putter, but has since massively improved my putting (thanks Seemore and Garsen) with a traditional style of putting, this article makes all the sense in the world to me – as does your solution. Which is why, sadly, the USGA and R&A will never walk back the anchor ban.
I feel for Langher and all of the crap he hears behind his back or on Social Media (nobody will say anything to his face).
2putttom
Oct 25, 2017 at 10:09 pm
not after @ 272 yards 3 wood that put his ball six feet from the pin to eagle the 18th and win by one stroke.
Chopper
Oct 25, 2017 at 10:52 am
“No part of the club may touch any part of the body other than the hands, and the hands are considered to be part of the club.” How exactly would that have left Langer alone? Hands are part of the club and he anchored his hand into his chest. Your simple fix doesn’t work at all. In fact, everyone is now in breach of the rule unless your hands are not touching your wrists, in which case you are good.