The Anchoring Ban

[Tadashi70]

See but things like that are why people don't pick up golf: they think its easy, dumb and takes no athletic ability. I still say it should take skill and ability, which is why I've always opposed anchoring. Anyone can make a smooth stroke when they anchor.


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This argument is so tired, if that were the case why have not more pros switched. Using an anchored putter requires skill, touch and knowledge. The same holds true for a regular putter.
I can't use an anchored putter and I owned a few. I'm a better traditional putter.

 

[Tadashi70]

It's also their job to safeguard the integrity of the game. I suppose you'd also like to see them double the size of the hole and to remove the cc limit on drivers?


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How are 340 yard bombs protecting the integrity of the game. How is driver wedge protecting the integrity of the game. How is a hybrid that replaces the hardest clubs in your bag protecting the integrity of the game?

All advances in the game of golf have pushed the limits of the game as our forefathers setup. A gentleman's game played on a pitch that resembles nothing we play on today. Where is the usga when with other other advancements and so called crutches. The modern day golf ball saved the careers of quite a few people or prolonged it.

The integrity of the game is intact. The USGA is protecting their relevance in the game of golf. No one can trump them so they do what they want when they want. If this was an issue, then it should have been addresses 30 plus years ago.

 

[blugold]

How are 340 yard bombs protecting the integrity of the game. How is driver wedge protecting the integrity of the game. How is a hybrid that replaces the hardest clubs in your bag protecting the integrity of the game?

All advances in the game of golf have pushed the limits of the game as our forefathers setup. A gentleman's game played on a pitch that resembles nothing we play on today. Where is the usga when with other other advancements and so called crutches. The modern day golf ball saved the careers of quite a few people or prolonged it.

The integrity of the game is intact. The USGA is protecting their relevance in the game of golf. No one can trump them so they do what they want when they want. If this was an issue, then it should have been addresses 30 plus years ago.

I would even say that the usga is getting close to biting the hand that feeds them.

 

[Mulligan9111]

How are 340 yard bombs protecting the integrity of the game. How is driver wedge protecting the integrity of the game. How is a hybrid that replaces the hardest clubs in your bag protecting the integrity of the game?

All advances in the game of golf have pushed the limits of the game as our forefathers setup. A gentleman's game played on a pitch that resembles nothing we play on today. Where is the usga when with other other advancements and so called crutches. The modern day golf ball saved the careers of quite a few people or prolonged it.

The integrity of the game is intact. The USGA is protecting their relevance in the game of golf. No one can trump them so they do what they want when they want. If this was an issue, then it should have been addresses 30 plus years ago.

This post needs to be stickied. Excellent post!

 

[TripleBogieTim]

This argument is so tired, if that were the case why have not more pros switched. Using an anchored putter requires skill, touch and knowledge. The same holds true for a regular putter.
I can't use an anchored putter and I owned a few. I'm a better traditional putter.

I would agree with you on that Freddie....most people consider me to be a pretty decent putter, I borrowed an anchored putter from the pro shop at my course last year prior to placing Morgan Cup putter orders and they let me keep it for a couple of weeks (it was used)....I couldn't make anything with it....just never could get the stroke down.

If someone has really problems with a wristy stroke then I can see it helping...but it's not automatic that its going to be easier to putt with a long putter.

 

[Golf 'N Gator]

This argument is so tired, if that were the case why have not more pros switched. Using an anchored putter requires skill, touch and knowledge. The same holds true for a regular putter.
I can't use an anchored putter and I owned a few. I'm a better traditional putter.

Agree on all points.

 

[Smallville]

You are correct. However, it's the PGA's job to make the game more enjoyable. And get people to learn and love golf. If anchoring a putter makes the game easier and more enjoyable for some people, then banning the stroke may push some people away. And that is the opposite of protecting the game.

I am against the ban, and think the ruling is ridiculous, but people can still play regardless, and still anchor. Just can't play in USGA events, which means most people aren't affected either way. (In my opinion)

 

[blugold]

I am against the ban, and think the ruling is ridiculous, but people can still play regardless, and still anchor. Just can't play in USGA events, which means most people aren't affected either way. (In my opinion)

Completely understand and agree to a point. But after this ruling, an exaggerated stigma will come with using an anchored stroke.

On top of that, it may not be brought up as an option for those than are frustrated by the game because of putting b

 

[Golf 'N Gator]

I talked with the director of golf at my home course about his opinion on the ban. He does currently use an anchored putter. His first comment about it "Eff the USGA."

He then showed me a poll the USGA did with the pga members in Wisconsin. 64% of the responding PGA members opposed the ban.

I talked today about it with our PGA Pro and he said he was polled or surveyed on the subject, but he didn't know what the results were for Indiana, but it pretty obvious that the PGA of America and its members were largely against a ban of any kind.

With that being said, our pro also feels that time will pass and everyone will fall in line. He also thinks Matt Kuchar's style of putting may be the answer for those that were using belly putters and he thinks the style will become popular now with many.

No ban would have been better of course, but as they say, it is what it is now.

 

[Golf 'N Gator]

I am against the ban, and think the ruling is ridiculous, but people can still play regardless, and still anchor. Just can't play in USGA events, which means most people aren't affected either way. (In my opinion)

Well, 2016 is a ways away yet, but then it will become a issue of whether one wishes to play golf by the rules laid out before us, or just play a game that resembles golf. Tons of things I hate about the rules of golf, but at the same time, I play in some events so a handicap is a must, so to do that, the rules must be followed. Pretty easy choice for me. JMO of course.

 

[Kobey]

I would have been happier if they had banned that toaster oven on a stick that one guy uses.

 

[Fourputt]

You are correct. However, it's the PGA's job to make the game more enjoyable. And get people to learn and love golf. If anchoring a putter makes the game easier and more enjoyable for some people, then banning the stroke may push some people away. And that is the opposite of protecting the game.

The only possible reason that any of those new players would even know of the possibility of an anchored putting stroke is if the PGA pro in question told them of it and taught it. If he doesn't mention such a thing and hands the novice a standard putter, the novice will take that putter and use it without question. That change won't have even the tiniest influence in whether or not he stays with the game. This is a 100% red herring argument.

Striking the ball consistently with the full swing is the most difficult part of golf. Putting's biggest difficulty is in reading the green properly, picking a good line, then in having the touch to match the strength with that line. Learning to execute the actual stroke is the easy part.

 

[JB]

Its as if history and the internet do not exist ; )

 

[Fourputt]

Completely understand and agree to a point. But after this ruling, an exaggerated stigma will come with using an anchored stroke.

And rightly so :eyepoke:

Its as if history and the internet do not exist ; )

Novice golfers don't live on internet forums like we do. If they ever learn of it, it will be after they have been in the game for a while. Then it will be like so many other clubs and techniques which have been ruled out over the last 200 years - a non issue.

 

[blugold]

Its as if history and the internet do not exist ; )

Bonjour.

 

[TripleBogieTim]

Its as if history and the internet do not exist ; )

you mean like if Al Gore never invent it?

 

[Badger_Golfer]

The next person I hear say that they aren't going to start golf because it's too easy, will be the first. Awful argument there

And not everybody likes an anchored stroke. Plenty of people have gone to anchoring and then away from it.

I've had plenty of non-golfers tell me golf is stupid because the ball just sits there. Try again.


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[RoundersRob]

And rightly so :eyepoke:



Novice golfers don't live on internet forums like we do.

The expert golfers don't either. They are out practicing. Some trying out new putters I think.

 

[blugold]

I've had plenty of non-golfers tell me golf is stupid because the ball just sits there. Try again.


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That's not the same thing as "golf is easy"

 

[Jeanthemachine]

IMHO the main thing wrong with the ban is that it wasn't done 30 years ago.

I also think the length should be limited to no more than that of the driver.

I was also somewhat annoyed that Cobra chose to comment against the ban. I do not think it is appropriate for a manufacturer to get involved in these matters. Certainly the individuals can share their opinions but I do not think the corporation should comment other than to state its support for the governing bodies regardless of management's opinions.

 

[Smallville]

IMHO the main thing wrong with the ban is that it wasn't done 30 years ago.

I also think the length should be limited to no more than that of the driver.

I was also somewhat annoyed that Cobra chose to comment against the ban. I do not think it is appropriate for a manufacturer to get involved in these matters. Certainly the individuals can share their opinions but I do not think the corporation should comment other than to state its support for the governing bodies regardless of management's opinions.

Try 89 years ago. http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golftalkcentral/how-it-all-began-notable-long-putter-moments/

Or, from the first time someone won on Tour using one, 47 years ago.

1924: Leo Diegel develops a putting stance which involves a bent-over, elbows-out position with the butt of the putter at his belly button. Competitors called the move "Diegeling."

1966: Phil Rodgers wins twice on the PGA Tour with a 39.5-inch belly putter, using a technique suggested to him by Paul Runyan. According to the Associated Press, "Rodgers shoves the handle of his putter against his stomach and spreads his hands apart before taking his stroke."

August 1989: After nearly two months of debate, the USGA and R&A announce that long putters will continue to be permitted under the Rules of Golf. At the time, USGA executive director David Fay explained, "Putting is a very individualized art form. To inhibit a golfer's individual style would take some of the fun out of the game."

1991: Rocco Mediate wins the Doral Open, becoming the first player to win a PGA Tour event using a putter anchored to his sternum.

April 2011: USGA executive director Mike Davis appears on "Morning Drive" to discuss a possible ban of the anchored putter: "We don't see this as a big trend. It's not as if all the junior golfers out there are doing this. No one's even won a major using one of these things anchored to themselves. So we don't see this as something that is really detrimental to the game."

August 2011: Keegan Bradley wins the PGA Championship, becoming the first player to win a major while anchoring a putter to his body. Later that month, Davis expands on his earlier comments: "To date there's no evidence they are giving anybody an undue advantage. But could we become concerned some day? The answer is, yes."

June 2012: Webb Simpson becomes the second player to win a major using a belly putter, capturing the U.S. Open at The Olympic Club.

July 2012: Ernie Els wins the British Open using a belly putter, holing a 15-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole. Runner-up Adam Scott, using a long putter anchored to his sternum, misses a 6-foot putt to tie Els on the final hole. More than 27% of the field (43 of 156 players) use a long or belly putter.

Nov. 28, 2012: The USGA and R&A announce a proposal to ban anchored strokes, beginning Jan. 1, 2016.




Anyone who says this is to maintain the integrity of the game hasn't followed along. It's a knee-jerk reaction because a few majors were won using this method.

 

[Badger_Golfer]

Try 89 years ago. http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golftalkcentral/how-it-all-began-notable-long-putter-moments/

Or, from the first time someone won on Tour using one, 47 years ago.

1924: Leo Diegel develops a putting stance which involves a bent-over, elbows-out position with the butt of the putter at his belly button. Competitors called the move "Diegeling."

1966: Phil Rodgers wins twice on the PGA Tour with a 39.5-inch belly putter, using a technique suggested to him by Paul Runyan. According to the Associated Press, "Rodgers shoves the handle of his putter against his stomach and spreads his hands apart before taking his stroke."

August 1989: After nearly two months of debate, the USGA and R&A announce that long putters will continue to be permitted under the Rules of Golf. At the time, USGA executive director David Fay explained, "Putting is a very individualized art form. To inhibit a golfer's individual style would take some of the fun out of the game."

1991: Rocco Mediate wins the Doral Open, becoming the first player to win a PGA Tour event using a putter anchored to his sternum.

April 2011: USGA executive director Mike Davis appears on "Morning Drive" to discuss a possible ban of the anchored putter: "We don't see this as a big trend. It's not as if all the junior golfers out there are doing this. No one's even won a major using one of these things anchored to themselves. So we don't see this as something that is really detrimental to the game."

August 2011: Keegan Bradley wins the PGA Championship, becoming the first player to win a major while anchoring a putter to his body. Later that month, Davis expands on his earlier comments: "To date there's no evidence they are giving anybody an undue advantage. But could we become concerned some day? The answer is, yes."

June 2012: Webb Simpson becomes the second player to win a major using a belly putter, capturing the U.S. Open at The Olympic Club.

July 2012: Ernie Els wins the British Open using a belly putter, holing a 15-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole. Runner-up Adam Scott, using a long putter anchored to his sternum, misses a 6-foot putt to tie Els on the final hole. More than 27% of the field (43 of 156 players) use a long or belly putter.

Nov. 28, 2012: The USGA and R&A announce a proposal to ban anchored strokes, beginning Jan. 1, 2016.




Anyone who says this is to maintain the integrity of the game hasn't followed along. It's a knee-jerk reaction because a few majors were won using this method.

You forgot about Adam Scott winning The Masters with an anchored stroke.

 

[blugold]

You forgot about Adam Scott winning The Masters with an anchored stroke.

Nobody has forgotten that. The timeline from Smalls was just mad before the Masters

 

[Smallville]

You forgot about Adam Scott winning The Masters with an anchored stroke.

You forgot that I only went from where one was first used 89 years ago to the point where they proposed the ban! :eyepoke:

But that's all you got? :eyepoke: :eyepoke:

 

[Badger_Golfer]

You forgot that I only went from where one was first used 89 years ago to the point where they proposed the ban! :eyepoke:

But that's all you got? :eyepoke: :eyepoke:

LOL...How about I throw back at you Skycaddie's post on their FB page where they said they asked their members for their opinion on the ban and 55% said they agree with the ban, 25% said they disagree with the ban and 20% are just glad its over. Back at you, bro. :eyepoke: