Tiger Wants to Ban the Long Putter

[Chas]

Originally Posted by Slim from SF

I completely disagree with your assessment of Tiger's motives.  I don't think people using them are a threat to me, nor do I think they are cheating.  But I hate them and wish they were banned.

Agree.  My impression of TW - not sure where I got it from - is that he is a student of the history and traditions of the game.  An anchored long putter is anathema to someone like this.  Likely if he thought that an anchored long putter would allow him to sink every putt under 20 ft he'd start doing it the next day - but he'd still feel that anchoring should be banned.  IOW he is a bit of a purist, something that I admire in a golfer.

Personally, as a pool and snooker fan, I think that putters should be constructed like pool cues.  A putter would get down on hands and knees (no belly contact with grass allowed - most unseemly) to address the ball on the green.   "English" or side/back spin could of course be applied to the ball, after the liberal application of chalk.  Opponents' balls would not be marked and billiards ("in-off") shots, scatter shots etc etc would be allowed. Maybe my putting would then finally improve ....

[ThominOH]

Regardless if you anchor the putter or not, you still have to make the stroke..  All I hear is that anchoring help minimize the yips of putting.. WELL?  So does reverse gripping, but no one is crying about that.. There have been many Pro's that said they wish they started off reverse gripping in the beginning because it's much better then standard grip..  BTW.. Many pro's such as Tiger also prefer interlocking grips versus using a baseball type of grip, because it reduces the OOPS shots..... UMMM Isn't that what anchoring does?  Hypocrit?  just saying..

[audi2000]

Golf already has a lot of silly rules. Who really cares if a putter is held against the body. IMO it looks silly, but it doesn't affect my game how a player holds the putter. And, if it's an advantage why isn't everyone using a long putter.

[ejimsmith]

Originally Posted by iacas

You're still swinging at the ball when you do that.

You can't push the ball. You can't pull the ball. You can't scrape or spoon the ball either. Those are "restricted" ways in which the stroke is made, and there are already specific rules about those acts. Anchoring would just be added to the list.

anchoring is how you're holding the club. the example you put relates to how you hit/touch the ball.  sorry, apples and oranges.   try again...

[Chas]

Originally Posted by audi2000

And, if it's an advantage why isn't everyone using a long putter.

That is the fear of the R&A;, apparently.  They don't want it to happen and things are headed that way.  Many pro golfers are conservative about equipment or stroke changes but will go there in the end if they're sufficiently convinced it's worth trying.

[ThominOH]

Originally Posted by Chas

That is the fear of the R&A;, apparently.  They don't want it to happen and things are headed that way.  Many pro golfers are conservative about equipment or stroke changes but will go there in the end if they're sufficiently convinced it's worth trying.

Maybe so.. but that didn't stop the pros from switching to drivers the size of a double wide trailer..

[Chas]

Well that's kind of my point.  The fear is that almost ALL the pros will migrate to the dreaded broomstick or belly, if it becomes clear that almost everyone benefits - just as they all went to the 460s.  Then again, a number of players tried long putters for a while and ended up going back to traditional ones - so how strong of an argument that is I don't know.

[broomhandle]

The purist/traditionalist/reactionaries have lost over and over because hurting or even inconviencing the equipment companies just can't be tolerated.

Leaving long putters legal and banning the technique of using them is their chance to win one by only hurting the players who have taken the time to learn those techniques.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Originally Posted by iacas

You can't push the ball. You can't pull the ball. You can't scrape or spoon the ball either. Those are "restricted" ways in which the stroke is made, and there are already specific rules about those acts. Anchoring would just be added to the list.

I can imagine what pushing the ball would look like, but I have a harder time conjuring up scraping or spooning. They both sound like something you could do with a club that hasn't been used since 1893.

[Texian]

Originally Posted by Chas

Well that's kind of my point.  The fear is that almost ALL the pros will migrate to the dreaded broomstick or belly, if it becomes clear that almost everyone benefits - just as they all went to the 460s.  Then again, a number of players tried long putters for a while and ended up going back to traditional ones - so how strong of an argument that is I don't know.

Anybody notice that the three winners yesterday, Bradley, Henry, and Langer, all used long putters.

[tiger187126]

Originally Posted by Texian

Anybody notice that the three winners yesterday, Bradley, Henry, and Langer, all used long putters.

must be nice for the nervous hands on a potential winning putt to be able to pin the putter against your body...

[Chas]

Well I don't use a long putter (yet ....) and I'm entering Old Fartdom.  Does that mean I have a young man's game???

[Bayou Boogie]

Originally Posted by tiger187126

must be nice for the nervous hands on a potential winning putt to be able to pin the putter against your body...

I do use a belly, and it is because of having the yips. They started when I was about 45, I am 62 now and just got the belly last November. I still have days when I yip with the belly--and that means

double embarassment  compared to yipping with the standard.   Sometimes I putt with my right elbow anchored against my body and it steadies me--either with the belly or standard.

Should that anchoring be banned also? I might point out too, that the folks that struggled with driving yips, ala Ian Baker Finch, the 460's help steady their nerves--obviously an advantage since

everybody jumped on that band wagon.

[Golfingdad]

I was only half paying attention so apologies if I get this wrong, but I was fascinated by a couple of the things I heard on TGC the other day when they were talking to players about it.

Brandt Snedeker had a good point when he rhetorically asked "So now we are going to tell these guys who have been making a living doing this for years that they can't do it anymore?"  That is a paraphrase by the way, I don't remember the exact quote.  But, I agree, it's kind of unfair to take away the livelihood of so many who have been following the rules and make them have to go and start over.

On the other hand, I think I heard Webb Simpson saying that when he's at home he spends a lot of time practicing with a short putter just so he's not completely lost and behind the curve if and when the time comes that he has to leave the belly at home.  [I wish I could leave my belly at home!  Sadly though, it follows precedes me wherever I go]  I think that is very smart and Darwinian of him.

[Bayou Boogie]

Some of these guys like Tim Clark are hinting around that they might go litigious on the PGA if they ban the stroke, I can't see that going anywhere--I was surprised this morning

on Morning Drive when Gary Williams, Charlie Ryhmer, and Lanny Wadkins all were of the opinion that the USGA will come to the conclusion that the horse has been

out of the barn for too long to ban it now.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

Brandt Snedeker had a good point when he rhetorically asked "So now we are going to tell these guys who have been making a living doing this for years that they can't do it anymore?" That is a paraphrase by the way, I don't remember the exact quote.  But, I agree, it's kind of unfair to take away the livelihood of so many who have been following the rules and make them have to go and start over.

First off, they're not starting over. I could probably pick up a belly putter and with an hour of practice be within a stroke or so of my regular putter. They're not that different.

And second, I'm not sure you're attributing the quote properly. Maybe you are, but I remember him saying "it removes the nerves, and I want to see how your hands and your nerves are on the last hole with a five footer for a win." He was very clearly in favor of banning the long and belly putters.

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

On the other hand, I think I heard Webb Simpson saying that when he's at home he spends a lot of time practicing with a short putter just so he's not completely lost and behind the curve if and when the time comes that he has to leave the belly at home.  [I wish I could leave my belly at home!  Sadly though, it follows precedes me wherever I go]  I think that is very smart and Darwinian of him.

Yes, and odds are, they'll find out this fall and will have through 2015 to USE the belly putter. I could see players using the belly putters in the first three rounds and, if they're out of it, using the short putter in the fourth round of events they can't win to get some "under the gun" practice in with them, then maybe using them for the last two rounds, then the last three... all in 2015 or something.

Originally Posted by Bayou Boogie

Some of these guys like Tim Clark are hinting around that they might go litigious on the PGA if they ban the stroke, I can't see that going anywhere.

I can't either. On what grounds? If the USGA wanted to make a rule that said you had to recite a poem every time you dropped a golf ball or else you could be penalized a stroke it could do it. Obviously that's a silly example but the point I'm making is that it's an arbitrary game with arbitrary rules. Pros used to be allowed to putt with the flagstick in, then that rule was changed. Rules change fairly often - on what grounds would someone have to sue? None, really (not that it ever stopped someone from suing).

The NFL changed the kickoff yard line last year or the year before. Kick returners didn't sue.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by iacas

First off, they're not starting over. I could probably pick up a belly putter and with an hour of practice be within a stroke or so of my regular putter. They're not that different.

And second, I'm not sure you're attributing the quote properly. Maybe you are, but I remember him saying "it removes the nerves, and I want to see how your hands and your nerves are on the last hole with a five footer for a win." He was very clearly in favor of banning the long and belly putters.

I warned you that was possible.  I was cooking dinner, talking to the wife, and playing with kids, and I thought that is what I heard in the background amongst all of that.  [Side note: I make a mean macaroni and cheese!]

But it was also snippets back and forth of him and other players (including a focus on Carl Petterson) so maybe I did hear it right and TGC were taking things out of context.  Either way, I probably should have researched it more before I opened my mouth

Quote:

Yes, and odds are, they'll find out this fall and will have through 2015 to USE the belly putter. I could see players using the belly putters in the first three rounds and, if they're out of it, using the short putter in the fourth round of events they can't win to get some "under the gun" practice in with them, then maybe using them for the last two rounds, then the last three... all in 2015 or something.

I thought of that too right after I posted.  If they make a decision this year (they will right???) then that gives all of those pros who haven't even picked up a regular putter (if there are any) 3 full years to adjust.  And if they can't adjust, well, I guess that kind of "proves" the point of the governing bodies/Tiger Woods/et. al. that they do have an advantage with this long putter.

(It doesn't bother me, so if they decide to allow them to keep it, I'm OK with that.  Also, I don't use one, so if they decide to ban it, I'm OK with that too.)

[Texian]

Originally Posted by Bayou Boogie

Some of these guys like Tim Clark are hinting around that they might go litigious on the PGA if they ban the stroke, I can't see that going anywhere--I was surprised this morning

on Morning Drive when Gary Williams, Charlie Ryhmer, and Lanny Wadkins all were of the opinion that the USGA will come to the conclusion that the horse has been

out of the barn for too long to ban it now.

I hope Williams, Ryhmer and Wadkins are correct. But if it happens and Tim Clark and/or someone else decides to sue, put me down for a contribution.