Billy Mayfair, Bernhard Langer Still Anchoring Putter?

[newtogolf]

Looks like it's not dead yet...

[Golfingdad]

Did Billy Mayfair miss the memo about the rule change:

 

[boogielicious]

2 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

Did Billy Mayfair miss the memo about the rule change:

 

He's probably claiming to be doing what Langer is doing.

[Golfingdad]

28 minutes ago, newtogolf said:

Looks like it's not dead yet...

Ha, I posted this too on another anchor thread. Looks illegal.

[Golfingdad]

14 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

He's probably claiming to be doing what Langer is doing.

They mentioned Langer during the telecast but pointed out that what Langer does is much more pronounced. (I haven't seen him this year yet)

TBH, he looks anchored to me.

[boogielicious]

Just now, Golfingdad said:

They mentioned Langer during the telecast but pointed out that what Langer does is much more pronounced. (I haven't seen him this year yet)

TBH, he looks anchored to me.

Me too!

[newtogolf]

Langer does his practice swings anchored but they claim he moves the hand during the actual stroke.  Mayfair looks like he's completely anchored.  

[iacas]

6 minutes ago, newtogolf said:

Langer does his practice swings anchored but they claim he moves the hand during the actual stroke.  Mayfair looks like he's completely anchored.  

I agree.

I wonder how this look compares to the video he sent the USGA and PGA Tour.

 

[mvmac]

It doesn't seem like his left thumb is "into" his chest because there is some "drift" with the butt of the club on the backstroke and followthrough but it certainly seems like it's making contact. So yeah he's anchoring, especially when the handle is that high on your chest, the shirt isn't going to hang that far away from you.

[pumaAttack]

Just putt normal already!

[Golfingdad]

37 minutes ago, mvmac said:

It doesn't seem like his left thumb is "into" his chest because there is some "drift" with the butt of the club on the backstroke and followthrough but it certainly seems like it's making contact. So yeah he's anchoring, especially when the handle is that high on your chest, the shirt isn't going to hang that far away from you.

Also, I'm not convinced that his forearm is clear of his chest either.  Even if his thumb is a millimeter away, if any part of that forearm is against the chest, that's against the rules as well, correct?

[dchoye]

It looks very close to me, but "looks like touching" could still be a millimeter away and still be legal

In my opinion this other putting stroke by Mayfair should be deemed illegal,

 

Edited March 25, 2016 by dchoye

[Missouri Swede]

http://golfweek.com/news/2016/mar/24/billy-mayfair-putting-stroke-pga-tour-usga/?print

Quote

Thursday, March 24, 2016

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – By now, perhaps you’ve seen the highlights on television, or watched the video on the internet. Billy Mayfair, who opened with a fine 5-under 67 at the Puerto Rico Open at Coco Beach, uses a long putter and keeps it awfully close to his chest – even closer, it seems, than does Bernhard Langer, who this season has changed his stroke to move the putter away from his body.

So, is Mayfair still anchoring?

Mayfair, who will turn 50 in August and is looking forward to competing on the PGA Tour Champions, doesn’t have any trouble sleeping when it comes to his putting stroke and wondering whether it’s legal. He knows what it may look like to others, but in getting ready for the anchoring ban that was implemented by the U.S. Golf Association and R&A in January, he did his homework. At first, he called the PGA Tour to ask about the stroke he’d been working on, and then he went one step further.

“I had some questions on where my thumb position was, and if it was anchored or not,” Mayfair said. “The Tour wasn’t 100 percent sure, and they didn’t want to make the wrong call, so they said, just send a video in. I said, That’s a great idea. I sent one to them, and I sent one to the USGA, and both got a thumbs up.”

Last fall, Mayfair said he moved the butt end of his long putter off his body a little bit. 

“I anchored it (last year), but it never stayed anchored; it moved a little bit on my chest, back and forth. So when I moved it away from my body, it actually started feeling better because it freed it up just a little bit more. I’ve had to work on my short putts to make sure I don’t anchor those, tap-ins and all that. ... (but) it feels better than it probably did when it was anchored.”

[SavvySwede]

8 hours ago, dchoye said:

It looks very close to me, but "looks like touching" could still be a millimeter away and still be legal

In my opinion this other putting stroke by Mayfair should be deemed illegal,

 

That has got to be the worst stroke from a Tour player I've seen.

[boogielicious]

9 hours ago, SavvySwede said:

That has got to be the worst stroke from a Tour player I've seen.

A side swipe motion. Weird.

[Howling Coyote]

On March 25, 2016 at 9:56 AM, Golfingdad said:

They mentioned Langer during the telecast but pointed out that what Langer does is much more pronounced. (I haven't seen him this year yet)

TBH, he looks anchored to me.

Yes, Langer holds the putter more vertical and away from his chest.

However, this anchoring rule has me wondering...

Once I teed off and my ball landed just past a bunker, just inches past.  If I were a lefty this would not have been a problem.  But being right-handed, I had to stand in the bunker to do a chip, pitch, etc.  I was standing about 18 inches lower than the ball because of this and the top of the club was very close to my sternum.  Now if I was DeChambeau and had those long clubs, it would be impossible to  keep them from sticking into the chest or hitting the ball with the heel of the club.  I wonder what he does in these circumstances?

[Ernest Jones]

On March 26, 2016 at 10:52 PM, SavvySwede said:

That has got to be the worst stroke from a Tour player I've seen.

Trying to fade his putts like Bubba!

[Golfingdad]

5 hours ago, Howling Coyote said:

Yes, Langer holds the putter more vertical and away from his chest.

However, this anchoring rule has me wondering...

Once I teed off and my ball landed just past a bunker, just inches past.  If I were a lefty this would not have been a problem.  But being right-handed, I had to stand in the bunker to do a chip, pitch, etc.  I was standing about 18 inches lower than the ball because of this and the top of the club was very close to my sternum.  Now if I was DeChambeau and had those long clubs, it would be impossible to  keep them from sticking into the chest or hitting the ball with the heel of the club.  I wonder what he does in these circumstances?

14-1b says "intentionally" in the wording so I imagine if his club stuck in his chest during his chip, as long as he wasn't trying to do it on purpose, then he wouldn't be in breach.