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Tiger Wants to Ban the Long Putter


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From anchoring the club against the body.

So the rule change would be simple - At address, no part of the club can touch any part of the body except the hands or forearms. Nothing above the elbow.

A more drastic rule would be nothing above the wrist.

Simple.

YES!! Totally agree!!  Although Tiger contends that "the shortest club in the bag should be the putter" (Agreed there as well),personally I think it is more of a contact to the body issue as opposed to the putter length.

I drew the line on "anchoring" the minute I saw Camillo setting up in Hawaii & walking away with that indentation on his shirt.

No doubt anchoring is an advantage once the art of it has been refined...Haas,Bradley,Simpson have become masters.

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Thanks for the resume. I believe you know your stuff. I trust you will believe I do too so I will dispense with my resume. So now that we've established we both know what we're talking about... So the rule change would be simple - At address, no part of the club can touch any part of the body except the hands or forearms. Nothing above the elbow. A more drastic rule would be nothing above the wrist. Simple.

I don't see how that would prevent anchoring. You could still anchor your hand against your waist or chest, palm out, and put the end of the putter in your palm, then guide it with your other hand. And speaking of expertise, I spend a lot of time on the internet, and have become very adept at doing things with one hand.

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You have a point. You could ban the club from being anchored against the body, but what about anchoring it against the hand that is anchored against the body...hmm....

Maybe we are back to limiting the length of the putter...

I just don't like anything that instantly transforms a part of someone's game; a poor putter becomes good just cuz he anchored the club. There has to be a way to keep that from happening. Goes to the integrity of the game.

And no - using a driver that adds 10 yards doesn't count as transforming part of the game. It just means a drive that is 10 yards longer.

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And let's make the golfers wear plus-fours and use wooden shafts and hit a ball stuffed with feathers ...

OK, I kid.  But why are long putters so objectionable?  In this age when golf courses are made obsolete by the power of every other club in the bag?  Somehow anchoring a putter seems almost traditional as opposed to pros hitting a three-wood - excuse me, three-metal - and a seven iron to a par "5".

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Originally Posted by zipazoid

The way he putted today, maybe Tiger should try the long putter.

Beat you to it . :)

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
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They're going to need to ban my 10 foot driver as well....  Come and take it!

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And my axe!

Stretch.

"In the process of trial and error, our failed attempts are meant to destroy arrogance and provoke humility." -- Master Jin Kwon

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Originally Posted by BruceMGF

And let's make the golfers wear plus-fours and use wooden shafts and hit a ball stuffed with feathers ...

OK, I kid.  But why are long putters so objectionable?  In this age when golf courses are made obsolete by the power of every other club in the bag?  Somehow anchoring a putter seems almost traditional as opposed to pros hitting a three-wood - excuse me, three-metal - and a seven iron to a par "5".



That's the thing though... with the examples you gave above, the materials used changed but not much else.  No matter the club were talking about, whether it be a club from now or 40 years ago is still a club head attached to a shaft with a grip on the end... and it's still swing the same way.  Yes they've gotten a bit larger as well but the idea of how to swing them is essentially the same; you stand to the side of the ball and whack at it...  That is different with long/belly putters... those clubs are changing the way the game is played by having them anchored to your body.

To me, there is a difference in changing the materials to make something better and completely changing the swing all together.

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Count me on the side of banning anchoring the putter anywhere on the body.  But there will always be ways around it - is a guy who hold the butt of the grip and anchors his hand against the body breaking an "anchoring the club" rule?  I also think the "shortest club in the bag" has problems - most sand wedges are around 35½" - would that player (think Ray Floyd) not be able to use a 37-38" putter?

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Originally Posted by tristanhilton85

That's the thing though... with the examples you gave above, the materials used changed but not much else.  No matter the club were talking about, whether it be a club from now or 40 years ago is still a club head attached to a shaft with a grip on the end... and it's still swing the same way.  Yes they've gotten a bit larger as well but the idea of how to swing them is essentially the same; you stand to the side of the ball and whack at it...  That is different with long/belly putters... those clubs are changing the way the game is played by having them anchored to your body.

To me, there is a difference in changing the materials to make something better and completely changing the swing all together.



So is the problem the length of the club or the anchoring? I've seen people rest their hands on a thigh using a conventional-length putter.

Changing materials to make things "better"?  No problem with cork-filled baseball bats?  Why not?

The problem in golf is that old golf courses are being made obsolete.  For the pros at least, the response has been to trick them up with ridiculously narrow fairways, greens that won't hold, etc., etc.  Wouldn't it be easier to restrict clubs rather than start building courses with 800-yard par 5s?   (Or maybe the old par-72 courses could be turned into par-62 courses.  It's a thought.)

I just don't see how these long putters are doing anything like that.  You still have to read the green, gauge the distance, and swing straight.  If they make the last a little easier, so what?   If these guys start draining every putt within 25 feet, I might get worried.

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No one has won the Masters using a long putter. In fact I can't think of any major won by anyone using a long putter.

How about that last major played? :-P Also, Angel Cabrera won The Masters with a 39-inch putter. It's not defined as a long putter (so, yes, you are correct on that point), and he wasn't anchoring it, but it is longer than usual, FWIW.

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Originally Posted by camper6

No one has won the Masters using a long putter.

In fact I can't think of any major won by anyone using a long putter.



You have to go alllll the way back to the....

2011 PGA Championship. Keegan Bradley.

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Originally Posted by Beachcomber

Camper said 'Long Putter'.  The Long Putter and Belly Putter are different.


To you. I think many consider any putter longer than standard a "long putter."

All belly putters are long putters but not all long putters are belly putters.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

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