USGA To Rule On Anchoring the Putter

The April 30 edition of GolfWorld magazine magazine contained a brief article saying that the USGA and R&A are seeking a way to ban or limit anchoring the putter for inclusion in the 2016 rules revision.

The opening paragraph in GolfWorld reads:
“A change to the Rules of Golf that would limit golfers’ ability to anchor long putters and other clubs against the body is looking more likely, judging from R&A officials’ comments during a press conference April 23 to promote this summer’s British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.”

The article described “discussions with the USGA on the matter as proceeding at an intense pace.”


Further, “The governing bodies are looking at Rule 14, which defines a stroke, as opposed to restricting the length of the club.”

So far, this looks to me like a solution in search of a problem. There was no controversy until last year when Webb Simpson won twice and Keegan Bradley won a major championship, both using an anchored putter. If you look at the Strokes Gained, Putting rankings, there is no trend for players who anchor their putter to be at the top.

However one putts, one still has to read the green correctly, get the speed right, aim oneself properly, get the staring line right, make a flawless stroke, and have supreme confidence all the while. I don’t know how an anchored putter makes those things easier to achieve. I have seen both Simpson and Bradley putt in other tournaments where they couldn’t hit their hat.

How a Rules change would affect the career of players who have established themselves putting one way and would in 2016 have to learn a completely different style, I will leave to the players affected and their attorneys.

The real issue for the world of golf concerns players who have a bad back. I wrote earlier this year in this space about the effect that banning a long putter would have on the many thousands of amateur golfers who play with a bad back and need a long putter in order to keep playing.

By targeting Rule 14 rather than restricting the length of the club, it would appear that the USGA is taking our needs into account. We can only encourage them by writing to them to express our concern.

If you need an accommodation in putting because of a bad back, please write to the USGA to express your concern over any rule change that would affect your ability to play.

The USGA does not seem to have an e-mail address for general correspondence. Their mailing address is:

The United States Golf Association
P.O. Box 708
Far Hills, N.J. 07931

You may also telephone them at 908-234-2300, FAX 908-234-9687.

Visit www.therecreationalgolfer.com

2 thoughts on “USGA To Rule On Anchoring the Putter”

  1. The issue here, as I see it, is not whether the anchoring of a putter is a score lowering issue, but is it a “traditional” stroke. The USGA and R&A may see it that, if they do not pass a rule about this, they may have difficulty in the future about what does or does not constitute a stroke at the ball, and they may lose control of the ability to make Rules.

  2. Your last comment is especially pertinent. What if the anchored putting stroke is banned and several professional golfers sue the USGA? What if the professional tours decide not to follow that rule, which they can decide? That would constitute a real loss of control.

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