USGA executive director Mike Davis wasn’t just whistling Dixie when he recently noted this about differing opinions regarding the use of the anchored style of putting: “It’s been a polarizing issue, and for many years you’ve had people who genuinely care about the game sit on both sides of it. It’s been fairly divisive, and it’s only gotten more so in the last year.”
Davis’ comments came in the wake of golf’s rule-making bodies, the USGA and R&A, recently proposing a ban on anchoring, most notably when making a putting stroke. If it’s adopted, Rule 14-1b would take effect on Jan. 1, 2016. But over the course of a three-month period starting on Nov. 28, the USGA and R&A will consider further input from golfers and those in the industry before announcing a final decision.
The issue has elicited a variety of strong opinions, and that includes from the CGA and a couple of Colorado Golf Hall of Famers who have had significant success both with short and long putters, anchoring and not anchoring.
CGA executive director Ed Mate said the association is unequivocally behind the USGA regarding the proposed rule change.
“We absolutely 100 percent support the USGA in its position,” he said. “This is in the best long-term interest of the game, and in keeping the game you love the game you love.”
But, as Davis noted, there are credible positions on both sides of the matter.
“I can’t figure out for the life of me why they’re doing it,” said Bill Loeffler (pictured above), winner of three Colorado Opens and the 1986 U.S. Mid-Amateur. “There’s been a big push in recent years by the PGA and the USGA to grow the game and make the game more fun. I know a number of people who would have quit the game if not for the long putter. I think they’re taking a step backward. I’ll be surprised if they do (go forward with the rule change). I hope the USGA rethinks it.”
Added Rick DeWitt, a six-time CGA Player of the Year: “A putter doesn’t read the putts for you. I don’t really understand why they feel it’s a great advantage when just 10 percent of players are using it.”
Just as adamant on the pro-rule change side are Tiger Woods, winner of 14 major championships over the last 16 years, along with Rory McIlroy, Davis and R&A chief executive Peter Dawson.
“I just believe that the art of putting is swinging the club and controlling nerves and having it as a fixed point, as I was saying all year, is something that’s not in the traditions of the game,” Woods said last week. “We swing all other 13 clubs. I think the putter should be the same. It should be a swinging motion throughout the entire bag.”
Said McIlroy via Twitter: “Fully agree with the anchoring ban. Better image for the game of golf, skill and nerves are all part of the game. Level playing field in ’16.”
The issue has come to a head after winners of three of the last five majors (Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson and Ernie Els) used long/belly putters in their victories. Among the tour players with strong Colorado ties using long/belly putters are Martin Laird, Kevin Stadler, Gary Hallberg, Craig Stadler and Mark Wiebe, though some don’t anchor their putter. (It’s important to note that long putters would still be legal if the rule change is approved, but anchoring them to the body would not be.)
“Our objective is to preserve the essential skill and challenge of the game of golf,” Dawson said. “… To be honest, we are concerned the anchored stroke could supplant the traditional putting stroke. We don’t feel this is a golf stroke.”
Noted Davis: “We’re nervous about where this could lead, not just in putting. We’re starting to see people do it with chip shots, and we just think fundamentally that this is not golf.”
Those who object to the proposed rule change fall primarily into two camps: players who anchor a putter and are concerned about their games suffering, and those who are worried that 14-1b might cause some golfers to abandon the game. That latter reason is at the root of PGA of America president Ted Bishop noting that 63 percent of PGA members responding to a survey opposed a ban on anchoring.
“The USGA runs on a different wavelength than I do,” Loeffler said. “I love them, but at times they have some tunnel vision. They have to look and see what’s good” for the majority of golfers. “How many people (consistently) break 90? Not many. You have to think about the others.”
But Jack Nicklaus was recently asked on the Golf Channel about whether the proposed rule might drive people away from the game.
“No, I don’t think so,” he said. “I think it’s like anything else: They’ll get used to it and get over it.”
In competition, DeWitt believes if the rule is enacted there would be times when it would be difficult to enforce.
“If you can’t anchor it, I would try to hold my left hand away from my body,” said DeWitt, who qualified for this year’s U.S. Senior Open. “But if you have a lot of clothes on, it would be a pretty touchy thing to determine whether a person is actually anchoring it.”
And so the debate continues …
For a USGA graphic on the proposed rule change, and what would be permitted and not permitted, CLICK HERE.
