Ban Belly Putters?

[iacas]

My feeling on this, is torn both ways. I think if you are saying to ban them because it helps you release, say in Sergios case. I think that something like a 2 ball should be looked at then too since it helps those align who cant align. I mean this is what technology does, it helps you in areas that you otherwise are not good at.

Those examples aren't the same, though, c'mon. We've had alignment aids of various kinds for years. Lines, dots, people putting lines on golf balls, etc.

And a draw driver also makes it TOUGHER to hit a cut, so it's a give-and-take there. The belly putter changes one of the fundamental aspects of golf - that you "swing" a club and it's held in the hands. It's anchored to your body, and that's the part I personally don't like. I think "split hands" is fine - look at that stupid hammY putter - but not anchoring to the body. Anyway, I mostly didn't like your examples. They aren't quite the same thing.

[GOLFSALOT00]

BAM THEM some of the greatest putters of all time have used traditional straight blade putters

[nykfan4life]

It's not about making the game "easier" - it's about changing the very premise of the game. Golf clubs aren't anchored to your body. They're swung.

This is why I think a ban should be enacted. Put my thoughts into words like I couldn't myself.

[LottaBalata]

I see absolutely no advantage to the long/belly putters. In fact, most of the guys (that I know of on the PGA tour) that used them, have went back to regular length putters. And if they have not switched back, they certainly have not progressed to the top of the stats as far as putting percentages.

I see no reason to ban something that doesn't give some extra advantage.

Also, they are still swinging the putters, whether the butt is jammed into their belly or one hand is resting against their chest.

1/2 the time, I think guys switch to long/belly putters merely due to back trouble.

[joshtpa]

I see absolutely no advantage to the long/belly putters. In fact, most of the guys (that I know of on the PGA tour) that used them, have went back to regular length putters. And if they have not switched back, they certainly have not progressed to the top of the stats as far as putting percentages.

I agree. To me it would be no different than someone short enough taking a 36" putter, bending all of the way over, so that it could rest on them. I see no advantage to this whatsoever. They still have to make the club move.

[Fredguay642]

Ban them for the caddie's sake . I would hate to haul one around. They stick way out of the bag and look ugle everywhere. I like the idea of having to only having you hands on the putter.

[CowtownGrinder]

It's interesting how long/belly putters have become the proverbial 'bogeyman' for all that violates what is pure and fair in the game of golf. Despite the vast and varying forms of technological/game improvement advances in golf, the long putter is the 'line in the sand', across which no golfer with a shred of integrity would cross. For all objecting "purists", decrying the profanity of the long and wicked wand , might I suggest that, in addition to ditching your 34" 'White Ice' in favor of your old Wilson 8802-why don't you completely purify your soul? For the sake of righteousness, might I suggest you ditch your R-11 and your game-improvement shovels in favor of hickory-shafted persimmons and blades? Pro V1? Please, have some integrity ! You'll be choosing the.....let's see...how about Ben Hogan's ballata? I think that's arbitrarily classic enough. I seriously doubt any of the putter-priests have, at any point, used an illegal groove, either? Or, if they have, they ditched them far before the USGA or the R & A deemed them illegal. Okay, I won't belabor the point any further. These kinds of debates always remind of folks who lament the the downfall of the the English language, for example. Problem is, like language, golf technology is ever-changing and dynamic.  Would you prefer Shakesperean or Elizabethan English, frozen in some idyllic utopia?  Which favored era of technological nostalgia should we freeze golf in?:  hickory shafts or circa 1967-1979?  Let the governing bodies decide when and where technology has compromised the integrity of the game-until then have fun and use what works for you.  Human nature, I think, tends to snobbery.  "I may be a hack with a Flinstone Driver and irons, but at least I'm not a cheater, like the guy with putter that guarantees he'll putt better" .  Really? That's all this putter debate is to me-arbitrary and nostalgic snobbery. Joe average: your game has benefited in countless ways from all sorts of technological change-why you feel superior about using a short stick, while hitting Taylor Made Burner irons (when you'd be all over the chrome with any kind of 'respectable' club) is beyond me. Tour Pro Snob: let's face it, if you thought the long wand would help, you'd be all over it-bottom line. I know, I know, Freddy's a cheater...!? There's a reason Mickleson, Woods, and countless others still use the short putter: they believe it gives them the best chance to win. If you really think it's an unfair advantage, go back to persimmons, blades and hickories brother-keep it real all the way.  Or, heck, grab a long stick (it's perfectly legal, presumably, for a reason) and get over yourself!  Ernie, maybe you just got out-putted against Immelman?

[iacas]

I think it's pretty easy to draw a line between advances in equipment and what many see (including me) as a "different technique."

To cite a similar example of a "technique" being illegal, you're not allowed to putt croquet-style (straddling the line). Thus, the rules already make certain methods of play illegal - and so the "anti-belly-putter" types (again, myself included) simply see this as one of those types of things.

[Shorty]

I've got mixed feelings about this.

On the one hand, they can keep players in the game - not just on tour - but social players who get the yips.

And....for those who don't truly know what the yips are, I've seen a guy putt into a bunker from 6 feet and hit it 10 feet past from 1 foot.

It would be sad if people gave up because of frustration.

On the other hand, perhaps some rule needs to be enacted regarding the club not being "anchored" or touching part of the body aprt from the hands.

Some of us don't like the "look", in the same way we hate seeing cafddies lining players up.  Sort of looks very "uncool" and seems to me to promote the image of golf being an uncool sport.

Not sure that that means a rule change is needed, though.

[zeg]

Voted no.  Anchored or not, the club is still swung and the ball is fairly struck, so I don't buy the argument that it's somehow violating the spirit of golf.  Incidentally, I think the ban on side-saddle putting is wrongheaded as well for the same reason.  Particularly for a decision where there's pretty clearly not a big advantage, I just don't see the need: what problem are we trying to solve?

[GaijinGolfer]

I voted yes.  Its a pretty well-known fact that belly putters make putting much easier.  Im all for equipment that makes the game easier but when its something that takes practically all the skill out of putting, thats where you need to draw the line.

[turtleback]

I wouldn't ban any kind of putter.  But I'd add a rule that the player cannot be touching the club with anything other than their hands while making a stroke.

[newtogolf]

Originally Posted by turtleback

I wouldn't ban any kind of putter.  But I'd add a rule that the player cannot be touching the club with anything other than their hands while making a stroke.

I voted to ban the belly putter, but would change my vote if that rule was in place.

[B-Con]

[quote name="iacas" url="/forum/thread/6712/ban-belly-putters/36#post_73154"]

None

It's not about making the game "easier" - it's about changing the very premise of the game. Golf clubs aren't anchored to your body. They're swung.[/quote] This is the foundation of the argument against them. But I'm not sure where the assertion that golf clubs are swung comes from. What suggests that golf clubs should not be anchored to the body? If I had a bad lie around a green with the ball on the side of a bank about 3 feet above my feet and I wanted a simple bump-n-run onto the green, would it be anti-golf to let the handle of a long iron rest against my torso as I do a simple back-and-through? That's a practical shot that a player may want to use where he would anchor a non-putter club to his body during the swing. (Granted it's still a small swing, and it's a very rare scenario.) We wouldn't anchor clubs to our bodies as a [i]standard[/i] swing for any club other than the putter because there's no advantage in doing so. But where does "not useful" turn into "should always be done this way"? If you banned long putters on that principle, it should be made illegal for a club handle to touch the torso during the swing. FWIW, I kind of understand the point that clubs are to be swung, not anchored. I'm just playing devil's advocate for the sake preserving player's rights because I'm wondering if it would a better (/ more abstract) view of the game to think of it as giving players sticks to hit the ball with, and most players simply find that 99.9% of the time it's easier to not anchor it to the body, whereas another group finds a specific situation in which it is advantageous to anchor it to the body. Would that make sense, or is it too general? Regardless, I don't think the best solution, in terms of preserving the idea of how golf is to be played, would be to impose a length limit on the putter, it would be to restrict the putter handle (or any golf handle for that matter) from touching the torso. [edited for grammar]

[max power]

If 460cc multi-material drivers are kosher, I can see no reason to ban any kind of putter.

[ohiolefty]

I've tinkered with both but never put one in the bag. I got results instantly with a long putter. With a belly putter, figuring out where to anchor it is a challenge.

Still, I have more of an issue with these putters because, like many others on the thread, I feel it's against the spirit of the rules to use a club that is anchored to your body at a point besides your hands. Include some some of the other guys who use putters that intentially run up the shaft of their arm (isn't Kuchar using a putter like this now?). The putter, or any other club, should only be 'connected' to the hands and the hands only.

[Stretch]

Originally Posted by B-Con

Regardless, I don't think the best solution, in terms of preserving the idea of how golf is to be played, would be to impose a length limit on the putter, it would be to restrict the putter handle (or any golf handle for that matter) from touching the torso.

Good point. There are a number of players who use near-belly-length putters but putt with them in the standard fashion. Kuchar and Cabrera spring to mind.

Edit: Oops, should have read the post above. Doh.

[iacas]

Here's some proposed language for a belly putter ban . Post your own language if you'd like.