on anchoring the putter. Personally I don't see the problem, it's not like those guys who use the long or belly putter are dominating the tour. There are some guys like Adam Scott who have sort of rescued their careers with the long putter, but who are the best putters on tour? Steve Stricker, Brant Snedecker, Ian Poulter, etc...any of them using it? If those guys thought it gave them a significant advantage they'd all be using it. Heck I can't really tell the difference with the grooves on the wedges change. Scores haven't been going up since they took away the square grooves. If the USGA and R&A don't back down, what will the PGA tour do? The commissioner was hesitant to make any predictions that they would ignore the rule for PGA tour events. Which means that the US Open and the British Open will be played under different rules than the rest of the tour. I can't see those players who use the long/belly putter changing their equipment and stroke for those 2 tournaments. BTW, did any of you wonder why Mahan didn't take an unplayable lie when his ball was in the small brush. He had no chance, could have hurt himself and in the end he only hit it like a foot ...just enough to get it clear of the bush and give him a shot at the green. He could have accomplised that with a drop and a penalty. Either way he was going to be lying 3. Some really bad luck that his ball ended up a little down and Kuch's sitting pretty.
I don't think it's a matter of domination as it is being able to compete and make a living. This rule only effects some players and therefore the lawyers could be warming up on the range. Better to grandfather those on the tour anchoring and put future players on notice to change their strokes to conform.
If the long/belly putters had changed the game then I could see the point of outlawing them. But the game has changed with ball technology, shaft technology, driver head technology, iron technology....those have changed the game so much that to react to a long/belly putter by banning it just doesn't make any sense. It's affected the game the least.
The hands are what connects you to the club. By anchoring, you reduce the nerves out of the equation that can be very pivotable on the 18th green on Sunday. Kinda like stick 'em.
Where is the proof? Sure some guys have won using the long/belly putter...but it's far from the dominant method of putting and it doesn't appear to give those guys a competitive advantage. If it did, you have to figure that young guys like Snedeker and McElroy would be switching to that club. They all certainly jumped on every other piece of technology that comes along.
Put me down for mixed emotions. If it doesn't give an advantage then there is no problem banning it. If it does give an advantage then maybe it should be banned. Here's the thing...if they are going to so closely define the golf swing and the anchored putting stroke doesn't fit, then they should have jumped on it a long time ago...when guys first started trying it. Much like they did with Sam Snead. But no, they didn't see a threat because it wasn't that popular on the tour, so they let it go on and on until now some of the best players in the world have putted that way all of their lives. And that, to me, is why they should not ban it now.
Speaking of rules changes I heard an interview with the head of the Adams Golf pro tour discussing range finders. They are allowing many of them both GPS and laser. He said it shortened rounds of threesomes by 25 min. The PGA might like that.
They can use rangefinders in College Golf now, but they can't use GPS devices. Every time a PGA player hits a wild shot to a part of the course that isn't mapped out to the inch and he has a caddy walk off the distance...I go I can do that with my GPS...why are they walking it off. Those books that they all carry are jammed with information, so much so that I doubt if a range finder or GPS device would give them something that they don't already have so I don't see why they wouldn't use them. If the people in charge of golf were in charge of NASCAR you wouldn't be able to use air powered lug nut wreches to change tires! Before I had one you had to find the sprinkler head, and walk it off to your ball and then all you had was distance to the center. Now I just walk up the ball and glance at my data screen and I pretty much know what to hit, of course hitting it is still the problem!
I heard college players were using the magnifying range finders to watch the putts of players ahead of them on the green. Sly devils.