Long Putters - are they bad for our game's image?

[iacas]

What do you think? Are you among those that believe too that the long putter is causing the game to lose young players?

That wasn't my reason for disliking it, so I'm not even going to answer that.

And "draw faced" drivers give you an advantage if you cannot close the club face properly.

I already gave my opinion on this, and I still think the analogy fails to hold up. The draw driver also removes the ability to work the ball to the right easily.

You have also been happier with higher scoring rounds where you struck the ball better.

Yep. Golf isn't just about the score. Sometimes it's about improvement, learning, self-betterment, socializeation, exercise, enjoying the outdoors, etc.

A stroke a round is sometimes what divides 1st and 2nd place.

I don't care. I gave my reasons for not wanting to use it - I think it's not how golf should be played. And since I don't care about score quite so much, ALL the time, I don't have to worry about first or second.

And I putt just fine. My "one shot a round" was a hypothetical to show how against the belly putter I personally am.

What they look like is of little concern to me.

In case you missed it, I haven't said anything about what they look like. I've talked about how I believe they're against the general concept of golf.

If you want to talk to someone else about their points, quote them, not me.

[NM Golf]

The draw driver also removes the ability to work the ball to the right easily.

And the long putter removes your ability to putt entirely if you ask me. Regardless of this arguement I never could putt with one of those things.

Yep. Golf isn't just about the score. Sometimes it's about improvement, learning, self-betterment, socializeation, exercise, enjoying the outdoors, etc.

Very true, I guess the difference would be I tend to leave out the scorecard completely on those type of rounds. I only keep score when the score matters, when it doesn't matter I can do without the aggravation of knowing what I shot.

And I putt just fine.

I don't, wanna rent me the Z factor for a week!

[ShotCaLLa]

The topic of this thread is "Long Putters - are they bad for the games image?

To answer that question very directly, it is required that you define what image you want golf to project, and to whom is it most important for the image to be positive.

Is it important for the game to continue to grow? Yes.

How does the game grow? From younger people to start playing and continue to play. The kids that have parents that play will give them the exposure, so seeing someone using a long putter will not affect their "image" of golf.

But, for kids, teens, and young adults who have never played and/or do not care/have interest to play, the long putter reinforces their view that golf is a "stupid" and/or "dorky" and/or "for old people".

I really don't care if people want to use a long putter, even though it does give them an advantage.

But nobody can honestly say that the long putter stance, grip, stoke, and length are not odd.

The common putter is the shortest club in a common bag. The long putter is the longest club in that respective set.

The stance, grip, and stroke are all very, very, very, un-athletic looking, period.

When I was younger and played in high school, there is no way I would ever think to use a long putter. It would have resulted in the entire field cracking up and throwing many obscene remarks in my direction. Well maybe not the whole field, but anyone I knew would say something and then would probably not want to talk to me.

What I am rambling on about there is that they DO HAVE A BAD IMAGE ALREADY!!!!! When younger people see a person using a long putter, and they have never seen it before, there first thought is "what the hell is that person doing". After the explanation that explains the club, the advantages are quickly agreed upon, because they are very simple and easy to see. But because the stance, grip, stroke, and length are so ridiculous looking, that person usually thinks "well I am going to practice more with this putter because I never want to get so bad that I resort to looking like that!"

With competitive young players, which I was, they are looked down upon. No matter how low a person may shoot, there will always be the "but they use a long putter"

I'm sure there are exceptions, but not many.

Thankfully, the INCREDIBLE majority of top teir players use the length of putter that was used when this game was created. And we should all be happy that the best and youngest players in the game share this commitment.

Anyway....just my opinon. Yes, the long putter is not good for golfs image, if the purpose of an image is to attract new and youthful participants.

[LottaBalata]

If Tiger got caught drinking and driving in one of his Buicks, that would be bad for the game's image.

If Lorena and her caddie were caught naked on video and it leaked to the internet, that would be bad for the game's image.

If Phil Mickelson really did gamble with members at Augusta, that would be bad for the game's image.

John Daly, bad for the game's image. But his popularity is probably not what it use to be, not much affect on the game, I doubt.

I don't think the belly putter is bad for the game's image. Were steel clubs bad, sqaure head clubs, gps rangefinders, its innovation as far as I'm concerned. A different look or a twist on the same dilemna--getting the ball in the cup. You still have to read it and speed it right, regardless of whether the club is an extension of your hands and arms or is pinned against your body.

[JYB]

i really don't dig the belly putters...they just look awful imo