THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Brace yourself — just not your putter.
In a proposal that would affect every golfer
from major champions to amateurs at their local clubs, the guardians of
the 600-year-old
sport want to write a new rule that would outlaw a putting stroke
they fear is taking too much skill out of the game.
The U.S. Golf Association and the Royal
& Ancient Golf Club said Wednesday they are not banning the belly
putter or the longer
"broom-handle" putters — only the way they are used. The proposed
rule would prohibit golfers at all levels from anchoring
a club against their bodies while making a stroke.
The rule would not take effect until 2016.
"We believe a player should hold the club away from his body and swing it freely," USGA executive director Mike Davis said.
"Golf is a game of skill and challenge, and we think that's an important part of it."
Three of the last five major champions, starting with Keegan Bradley at the 2011 PGA Championship, used a belly putter.
What concerned the governing bodies, however, was an increasing number of players who were turning to the long putters because
they saw it as an advantage, not as a last resort to cure their putting woes.
"Anchored strokes have very rapidly become
the preferred option for a growing number of players, and this has
caused us to
review these strokes and their impact on the game," R&A chief
executive Peter Dawson said. "Our conclusion is that anchored
strokes threaten to supplant traditional strokes, which with all
their frailties are integral to the longstanding character
of our sport."
Players could still use a broom-handle or belly putter — as long as it not pressed against their body to create the effect
of a hinge.
The R&A and USGA now offer a three-month
period for open comment on the proposal before they approve it. But
this already
is shaping up to be a divisive issue, from industry leaders
worried about the growth of golf to players who have been using
these putters for years.
"Any competitive player likes to have an extra advantage," Matt Kuchar said. "I think you're going find anyone using the short
putter is glad, and anyone using the belly putter or long putter is not happy."
Kuchar used a mid-length putter that rested against his left arm when he won The Players Championship. That style is OK.
Fred Couples, the 53-year-old former Masters
champion, uses a belly putter, though it rests against his stomach — it
is not
anchored — and the end of the club moves freely. He was not sure
if that would be allowed, and he wasn't sure golf needed
such a rule anyway. Couples' argument is that if the anchored
stroke was that much of an advantage, everyone would be using
it.
None of the top 20 players on the PGA Tour's most reliable putting statistic used an anchored putting stroke.
"In my opinion, they haven't screwed up golf
yet, and I don't think this will screw it up," Couples said. "But I
feel bad
for Keegan Bradley, because I'll tell you what: If they banned it
tomorrow and we played a tournament, I think I'll be a better
player than Keegan. And I don't think that's fair."
Bradley and U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson,
who both use a belly putter, had said they would go along with the new
rule,
though they weren't happy about it. Simpson already has been
working with a conventional putter. Bradley used a regular putter
until he got to college.
"That doesn't take away from the last five years of hours of practice I've put in" on the belly putter, he said. "I'm going
to really in the next couple of years figure out a way that's best for me to putt."
Carl Pettersson of Sweden and Tim Clark of
South Africa have used broom-handle putters all their careers, and they
have talked
about a possible legal recourse. Neither could be reached for
comment. Pettersson was in South Africa for the Nedbank Challenge
and did not return a phone call.
Davis said there was no concern about a lawsuit.
"We need to do what we think is right," Davis said. "And shame on us if we are scared of litigation for doing the right thing."
Even some of those who support a ban on the
anchored stroke — a group that includes Tiger Woods — wonder what took
the governing
bodies so long. Such putting strokes date as far back as the
1930s, and they first gained some measure of notoriety when Orville
Moody won the 1989 U.S. Senior Open with a long putter held
against his chest. Paul Azinger won the 2000 Sony Open with a
putter he pressed into his belly.
But the longer putters got serious attention when majors were won last year — by Bradley at the PGA, followed by Simpson at
the U.S. Open. Then, Ernie Els won the British Open this year.
Adding to the attention was Guan Tianlang,
the 14-year-old from China who used a belly putter this month when he
won the Asia
Pacific Amateur, which earned him a spot in the Masters. He will
be the youngest player ever at Augusta National. Guan started
using the belly putter about six months before his big win.
Even so, Dawson and Davis said the catalyst for a new rule was not who was winning tournaments, but the number of players
switching to that style of putting.
Their research showed no more than 4 percent of players on the PGA Tour used the clubs for several years. It went to 6 percent
in 2006, and then to 11 percent in 2011 and to 15 percent this year, with some events having as much as 25 percent of the
players using the long clubs.
There was no empirical data to suggest a long putter made golf easier, and they made it clear that the proposed rule was not
about performance.
"This is about defining the game and defining what is a stroke in golf," Dawson said.
Why now?
Davis said it was one thing for a few players who use a long putter because they struggled on the greens or had health issues.
What changed was the spike in number of players using the putters, as well as instructors believing it was a better way to
putt.
"It was this recent increase, it was this
recent advocacy of players, instructors, to move toward the anchored
stroke that
really got us to the point where we said, 'We need to act in the
best interests of the game moving forward,'" Davis said.
"This is all about the future of the game. It's about us defining
the game, defining a stroke, clarifying a very controversial
and divisive situation."
The penalty for anchoring the club would be loss of hole in match play and a two-stroke penalty in stroke play.
The PGA Tour, European Tour and LPGA Tour
said it would evaluate the proposed rule with its players. The PGA Tour
has a mandatory
players' meeting in San Diego at the end of January, which former
U.S. Amateur champion Colt Knost tweeted would be a lively
session. Knost uses a belly putter.
The PGA of America said it was concerned that such a ban would drive people from the game.
"As our mission is to grow the game ... we are asking them to seriously consider the impact this proposed ban may have on
people's enjoyment of the game and the overall growth of the game," PGA president Ted Bishop said.
Woods walked quickly by reporters after his pro-am round at the World Challenge, saying only, "I think it's a good one," when
asked about the new rule. On Tuesday, he said using an anchored stroke takes away from nerves in the hands.
"I just believe that the art of putting is
swinging the club and controlling nerves," Woods said Tuesday. "And
having it as
a fixed point, as I was saying all year, is something that's not
in the traditions of the game. We swing all other 13 clubs.
I think the putter should be the same."
Jack Nicklaus recalls that croquet-style putting was banned decades ago and golf moved on. Even though far more golfers use
long putters, he expects the same outcome.
"They'll all learn to adjust," Nicklaus told
the Golf Channel. "Like anything else, they'll get used to it and get
over it.
... We've had changes with balls, wood heads, grooves, all kinds
of changes. Players have adjusted to those and they'll adjust
to this."
Davis, meanwhile, did not accept the premise that golf would lose even greater participation by taking away the anchored putting
stroke. He even cited a PGA of America program that showed fewer people were playing because of the expense and time.
"Difficulty is way down the list," he said. "And anchoring would only be a very, very small part of that."