Rules Question concerning the anchored putting stroke.

Bullitt5339

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I was pulled into a conversation at the course today between a group of older gentlemen who were obviously playing for money, the club pro and the assistant pro concerning anchored putting and whether the putting technique one gentleman was using was legal. Here's the scenario:

Gentleman uses a shorter belly putter and obviously sets up to the ball with the putter against his large stomach.

Gentleman makes the stroke, but instead of holding the putter in one spot against his stomach, he obviously drags the butt of the putter along his large stomach, barely contacting his rather large gut. I would call it more of a grazing.

There is no doubt that the putter is touching his stomach on the backstroke, but there is also no doubt that it is not anchored to a single spot, he is sliding the grip backwards, but it is still slightly dragging on his large stomach.

He does not keep the club in any type of contact with his stomach at all when swinging through the ball. The grip goes forward.

His opponent calls him out for anchoring his putter, which brings the Pro in. The Pro has never seen that technique and doesn't think it's technically anchored because the butt of the club is actually moving and therefore isn't anchored but says he will contact a rules official to find out for future use.

Was he using an anchored putting stroke?
 
Linear anchoring?

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Doesn't sound anchored to me. He isn't using his prominent midriff for a pivot point.
 
Legal.
 
Nothing wrong or illegal about the stroke since it made contact during the stroke and wasn't anchored, not to,mention the anchor ban isn't in affect on Dec 31, 2015
 
Nothing wrong or illegal about the stroke since it made contact during the stroke and wasn't anchored, not to,mention the anchor ban isn't in affect on Dec 31, 2015

I missed the initial part of the conversation, he may have just took all of their money so they were trying to handicap him for the next round. I just came in on the discussion about it.
 
If I ever get into this type of argument I will quit the game and take up basket weaving. This is exactly why I don't play in tournaments and will probably stay away from competition in 2016.


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Just for clarity, the USGA sees anchoring as holding the club in such a manner so that it pivots around a fixed point. Doing so eliminates a variable which is seen as part of an important golfing skill, that of controlling the entire length of the club and the position of both hands while making a stroke. If the butt of the grip slides along the player's belly then it is not fixed and it doesn't create a pivot point, thus it really can't be anchored. As described by the OP, he is controlling the movement of the entire club in making the stroke.

If he was to stop dragging the butt across his belly, then it would be anchored and no longer an allowed stroke.
 
You know something is wrong when it takes 7 pages to describe what is and what isn't "anchoring". Kuchar's style of putting is "anchoring" but doesn't involve a pivot point so it's legal as are other methods of anchoring such as elbows tucked into sides. To me, anchoring is anchoring whether or not it involves a pivot point.
 
I don't think it's the pivoting around a fixed point that's the issue; it's whether or not that fixed point is anchored to the body. I sidesaddle putt and my putting stroke pivots around a fixed point (my stationary left hand). I'm illegal if my left arm is connected (anchored) to my body. I'm legal if it's not. But with both strokes I'm swinging around a fixed point.
 
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