Over the past few months there have been rumblings by players on the PGA Tour calling for a ban on the belly putter.
The USGA doesn’t want any part of this issue, and The Rules Committee of the R&A indicated earlier this year that they won’t bring in any further changes to the game until 2007. I, for one, still can’t shake the perception that belly putters are for old guys who have bad backs.
I can understand why some players want to make the belly putter a thing of the past. The claim that these putters provide a stabilizing effect is a very strong argument, but just look at the statistics. Other than the PGA Tour’s leading money-winner, Vijay Singh, none of the top pros use them. So, unless Bernhard Langer starts breaking scoring records, and ripping up the PGA Tour, I believe it’s an argument better saved until ’07.