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The PGA Tour on Anchored Putting

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Yesterday, PGA Tour director Tim Finchem said that the Tour is not in favor of the anchored putting ban. While not going so far as to say that the Tour would not adopt the ban, a reasonable stance since the rule is still a proposal, Finchem did reassert the Tour’s right to establish its own playing conditions.

He said the best way to avoid conflict over the matter would be for the USGA to rescind the proposal.

Finchem noted that there is no evidence that players who use the anchored stroke have an advantage on the greens, as not one of them is in the top quartile in putting statistics. (While it might help individuals putt better, anchored putters are not a high-performing group.)

He also noted that since this technique has been part of golf since 1975, the USGA has given it tacit approval for almost forty years. A ban would have been more acceptable if it had been put in place much earlier than now.

Finally, the only reason the USGA seems to have is that anchoring is not a traditional stroke–it looks odd. That’s no reason to prevent players, professional and amateur, who have built their golfing success on anchoring, from putting that way.

The USGA’s comment period ends this Thursday, February 28th. Its final ruling will be made this spring.

So far, the USGA has handled this issue like it did the greens at Shinnecock Hills in the 2004 U.S. Open. We can only hope the directors see that this is not the issue on which they want to stake their authority.

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anchored putting, commentary, rules

My Comment to the USGA on Anchored Putting

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The USGA is inviting comments on its proposed Rule 14-1b, which would ban the anchored putting stroke. The comment period ends on February 28th. My comment, which I sent off yesterday, is printed below.

——————

February 12, 2013

United States Golf Association
PO Box 708, 77 Liberty Corner Rd.
Far Hills, NJ 07931-0708

This note is my comment on proposed rule 14-1b which bans the anchored putting stroke. I am opposed to the ban.

Golf is a game played primarily by millions of recreational players worldwide. They come in all ages, and all physical capabilities and conditions. The combination of the long putter and the anchored putting stroke has enabled many people to play the game enjoyably who would otherwise play in discomfort or not at all. This combination has also made a difficult game a bit easier to play; not a cakewalk, by any means, but a more approachable game in which beginners can achieve a satisfying level of success in a relatively short time.

It is recreational golfers that the rules of golf must accommodate. They are the game, not the handful of gifted players who compete at the highest levels. For those millions, the anchored stroke is not a corruption of the game’s principles or its intent. It is a way for them to have as much fun as they can.

We’re not asking for a different set of rules, but the preservation of the current ones. There is no point in changing the rules to make the game harder. Whether anchored putting contributes to golf’s growth is debatable, that banning the anchored stroke might well diminish it is not. I can easily foresee golfers with a marginal commitment to the game or physical handicaps quitting over this.

It seems the main argument brought up by the R&A and the USGA that the anchored stroke is a violation of the traditions of the game, that “a player should hold the club away from his body and swing it freely.” (Golfweek, December 7-14, 2012). That’s a tradition of the game because it’s a law of physics. If you want to hit a ball sitting on the ground a long way, you have to rear back and whack it. I suppose if someone wanted to have a belly driver with a 60” shaft (yes, I know the rule on shaft lengths) and swing it with an anchored stroke, they might be able to hit the ball 100 yards. We swing freely because that’s the only way to hit the ball and get anything resembling distance.

Putting, however, is not a distance stroke. It’s a finesse stroke. There is no need for it to be a free-swinging stroke. The anchored stroke is not part of golf’s tradition only because no one thought of it until recent times. But then, metal and graphite shafts aren’t traditional, either, as are not metal-headed drivers and moderns golf balls. The sand wedge and the Schenectady putter were nontraditional when they were introduced, but golf survived quite well following their acceptance. Anyone been stymied lately? It appears that golf’s rule-makers are being selective today as to which traditions they feel are necessary so the game can “sustain itself” and which are not.

There is an “unfair advantage” argument that you hear. If you think anchoring gives other golfers have an advantage, than you can start anchoring, too. PGA members who anchor have not taken over the top rankings in putting statistics, nor are they even close. No advantage that I can see there. If one of my playing pals switches to an anchored stroke and lowers his handicap by four strokes, I’ll be nothing but happy for him, because he’s having . . . more fun.

There is also the “nerves” argument, that the anchored stroke takes the nerves out of the game. Well, it doesn’t, and even if it settles them down a bit, recreational golfers don’t play golf to test our nerves. We’re not in competition. We’re out there to have fun.

So. To summarize. Golf belongs to the millions of recreational players, not the handful of professionals. We play golf to have fun. Anchored putting lets many of us not only have fun, but play the game, period. Let us keep this part of golf that does no harm to anyone or to the sport, but does many of us a world of good. Anchored putting so far hasn’t been the killing blow to recreational golf and it won’t be if it is allowed to continue. Rule 14-1b is a solution to an imaginary problem. Let’s keep the rules just like they are now.

Thank you for your attention.

Visit www.therecreationalgolfer.com

commentary

Is Chip Kelly the Phil Mickelson of College Football?

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Yes, this is a golf blog, but golf gives me the perfect metaphor to describe Chip Kelly, the highly successful, but maddening, coach of the Oregon Ducks football team. (Overseas readers, you might not be able follow the particulars, but you’ll do all right with the general principle.)

Kelly has taken Oregon to four straight B.C.S. bowl games, the National Title game once, and how can you get more successful than that? By not being the Phil Mickelson of college football, that’s how.

2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot. Phil, who hasn’t hit a fairway all day with his driver, has a one-shot lead on the final tee. Out comes the driver instead of the fairway wood and tragedy of errors, beginning with a tee shot deep into the trees, causes him to lose the tournament by one stroke.

2012 Masters. Third hole, final round. Phil hits his approach in to ugly stuff left of the green. Instead of taking an unplayable lie and trying for maybe a five and a certain six, he plays it as it lies and ends up with a seven, losing the tournament by two shots.

Over to Chip Kelly.

2010 National Title game. Oregon’s offense has been pretty well contained by Auburn’s defensive line, but the Ducks complete a long pass in the third quarter and have a first and goal inside the five. In three plays, they get down to the one yard-line. Instead of going for the field goal, Kelly tries to do what hasn’t worked three times already. It doesn’t work the fourth time. Oregon comes away with no points, and loses by three.

2012 at home against Stanford, the only team realistically standing between Oregon and another trip to the NTG. QB Marcus Mariota breaks off a long run to the Stanford 15 in the first quarter. Three plays later it’s fourth and two. Just like Phil, Kelly pulls out the driver, instead of going for a certain three points. Once again, the Ducks are stopped and Stanford takes over. The game ends in a tie and the Ducks lose in overtime. ‘Bye, ‘bye, NTG.

Both Mickelson and Kelly are gamblers, and they have the talent/team to make it pay off enough to warrant the attempt. But there are times when you just have to take what you’ve earned and say, “That’s good enough.” Fourth and short inside the 10 seems to be Kelly’s idea of hitting into a sucker pin. Sometimes it works, and when it does it’s what gets you knocking on the door of winning it all, but what’s the saying? Discretion is the better part of valor? A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush? It’s one thing to be brave, but another to be foolish.

Will Kelly ever learn? I doubt it. But oh, well, we’re having a fun ride, and we’ll enjoy it wherever he takes us for as long as it lasts.

I watched Monday night’s Alabama-Notre Dame game, every play, even to the very end. There’s no more college football for another 235 days. It’s a good thing I have golf to keep my mind occupied in the meantime.

My new book, The Golfing Self, is now available at www.therecreationalgolfer.com. It will change everything about the way you play.

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Predictions for 2013

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In this morning’s sports page there was an article containing ten things to watch for in golf in 2013. By golf, they meant professional golf, which includes about .01% of all golfers. They aren’t golf. You are. I am.

So here are my predictions for golf in 2013.

1. I will play more golf that I did last year (which isn’t saying much, because getting over spine surgery (twice) means you don’t play at all).

2. I will practice more intelligently.* That means every ball hit has to have a purpose.

3. I will take more lessons to learn the finer points of maneuvering the ball around the course. One of those lessons will be nine holes with the pro who will pick the shot and put the club in my hand, for every shot, and tell me why.

4. I will watch less golf on TV.

5. I will play five courses I haven’t played before (which is saying a lot, because I play all over).

But enough about me.

6. The USGA will lose membership if it adopts a ban on the anchored putting stroke.

7. The golfing press will get Tiger Woods’s name into every article, and have a picture of him, even when he does squat. Which he will do. Often.

8. Golf equipment manufacturers will tell you that the clubs you bought two years ago, which you had to get because the clubs you bought two years before that were seriously out of date, are now seriously out of date and you have to buy this year’s model even though a few lessons would be a much better investment for half the price.

9. The U.S. Open at Merion will demonstrate that the old courses are old. We love them, but the modern game has passed them by. It’s time to play golf’s majors on courses designed to test the modern game.

There. That’s nine predictions, not ten, because golf is a game of nines, not tens. Happy New Year.

*I made a New Year’s resolution to go to the range often. This morning I modified that to, but only if its over 40 degrees outside. That’s intelligent practice, too.

Visit www.therecreationalgolfer.com

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A Simple Business Model

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I get telephone calls every so often about business services that the caller would love to provide to me. I say I am a VERY small business, and don’t need their help, but thank you very much for calling. It never hurts to be polite.

Last night I got a call from someone who said I had been sent a preapproved application for equipment and vehicle purchases. I signed off as usual, because I don’t need a fleet of trucks to deliver all the books that everyone is buying from me. I just need to make a trip to the post office, and it’s close by.

If you click over to therecreationalgolfer.com and buy one of my books, I’ll sign it, put it in an envelope, go to the post office, and mail it to you. What could be better than that?

anchored putting, commentary

USGA Proposes Banning the Anchored Putting Stroke

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Normally I don’t post twice in one day, but this is not normal. Today’s post is a call to action.

Yesterday, the USGA proposed, as expected, a rule change banning the anchored putting stroke, effective in 2016. It also opened a 90-day comment period during which it will receive and consider commentary from anyone who care to opine. Please opine (below).

Regular readers of this space know that I am totally opposed to such a rule change. If you wish to be refreshed, the “belly putter” link under the Labels heading on the right will guide you to my earlier thoughts on the subject.

There is an argument that the anchored stroke gives some players an advantage. This does not hold up to any statistical evidence thus far presented.

So far, the USGA has released no statistical study showing the professionals who anchor putters are better putters as a group the the rest of their comrades. Nor is there any evidence relevant to amateur golfers.

I have heard that among the top 25 putters in the PGA statistics for 2012, there is not one player who anchors. Since I don’t know who anchors and who doesn’t, I’ll have to take that claim on face value, but I don’t think it’s wrong.

In your neck of the woods, if you think other golfers are beating you because of anchored putting, then you can try it, too. After all, are you the only one left playing with a wooden-headed driver? Of course not. You saw the advantage and switched. So did the pros.

The other argument that I have heard in support of the ban is that this not a traditional stroke.

It comes down to the sentiment that this is not the way golf has always been played and if we want it to stay golf, we can’t allow this stroke to remain legal. This is the way we’ve always done it. What does your boss say when he asks you why you’re doing something in a particular way and you give him that answer? You learn pretty fast that’s the wrong answer. It is here, too.

Lots of things about today’s golf aren’t traditional. Hybrid irons aren’t traditional. 460cc driver heads aren’t traditional. Two-piece golf balls aren’t traditional. Graphite shafts aren’t traditional. Steel shafts aren’t either, but it’s 80 years too late to get started on that one.

Let’s not forget that golf is a game that People Play. People=the masses. Play=enjoy. We don’t need golf to exist as perfection on paper. It is for the people who play the game that the rules should be created, the millions of recreational golfers for whom golf is their hobby, their happiness. The rules should reflect who they are.

Nor does golf exist solely for the elite players and the rest of us follow along thankful for the favor. Only for a vanishingly small percentage of players is it a career. They need rules, too, but there is no ultimate reason why the rules for each set of golfers needs to be the same. It certainly isn’t in other sports.

What is the Summer Game that everyone in America plays? It isn’t baseball, it’s softball. Baseball (or, hardball), is for young, strong men. For the rest of us, baseball has been modified so we can play it. The general rules of each game are the same, but softball is a game within reach of anyone who can swing a bat, throw, and run.

One game allows everyone to enjoy the outlines of a game they would otherwise lack the physical ability to play. This is where the anchored stroke comes in and this is where golf’s ruling bodies need to make an accommodation.

There are thousands of golfers who would just not be able to putt if not for being able to anchor a long putter of some kind. These are people who are too inflexible to bend over and putt. People who have physical infirmities or handicaps.

Why make golf difficult and painful for people who are out there getting exercise and enjoyment?

And, yes, some people have the yips.

One official reason supporting the ban is that putting should be a test of nerves and the anchored stroke takes that away. That’s fine if you’re a competitive golfer. But if you’re just out there to hit the ball around the course and have fun with friends, you’re not out there to be “tested.” Why make golf harder people than it needs to be if all they want to do is get in the out of doors and have enjoy yourself?

What is comes down to is this: anchored putting is an issue in professional golf. The governing bodies of each professional tour are allowed to make their own rules. They follow the USGA and R&A rule book, but they can make any exception they want to. If they feel that the anchored stroke is disrupting competition on their tour, they can institute a ban on their own, or ignore the new rule if they choose to.

But that is not a practical solution here. Tours will not thumb their nose at the official rules. That’s why there has to be two sets of rules, one for professional competition and one for amateur competition.

Professional baseball did this. Amateur baseball players, even college players, and softball players, use metal bats. Professional baseball players, though, have to use wooden bats. There’s a good reason. Put metal bats in the hands of major league hitters and you could have more home runs in a game than foul balls, not to mention the safety issue. Some pitcher would likely get killed by a hard shot through the box.

I know the USGA hates the word bifurcation, but it’s necessary because, as Bobby Jones said, “There are two distinct kinds of golf — just plain golf and tournament golf.”

It is time to fully admit that two different games are being played, and it is the game of the millions to which the rules in general should speak, and there are thousands of us who need the anchored putting stroke to be able to play and enjoy our playing.

An exception for professional golf can be inserted, but for the rest of us, things are just fine like they are.

If you wish to submit a comment to the USGA, you send a surface post or e-mail. Find out how to do either at http://USGA.org/Anchoring.

Visit www.therecreationalgolfer.com

anchored putting, commentary

USGA LIkely to Ban the Anchored Putting Stroke

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Earlier this year I mentioned that the USGA and the R&A would be ruling in December on anchored putting. Rumor has the decision now being announced in March, and the ruling could already be in the bag pending its announcement.

Even though anchored putting has been around for decades, the controversy did not arise until last year when Keegan Bradley won the PGA, and again this year when Webb Simpson and Ernie Els both won a major championship, all three using an anchored putting stroke.

Golf’s two governing bodies make the rules for tens of millions of golfers all over the world. But, because of the success of three (count’em, three) of those golfers, the rules for everyone could be changed.

Let us remind ourselves that golf belongs to the millions who play it for recreation. That several thousand play golf professionally does not give them ownership of the sport, and should not even be the driving factor in rules changes. Grooves notwithstanding.

Because three golfers had success at the right time with an anchored putting stroke, there is a very real chance that stroke will be taken away from many thousands of recreational players who need it to continue playing the game they love.

I’m talking about golfers who have the yips. Senior golfers who can’t bend over for the time it takes to hit a putt. Golfers of any age with back conditions which give them the same problem. The long putter with an anchored stroke lets them keep playing and keep having fun.

I’m a purist. I think you should dress well when you go out and play. You should follow all the rules even if it’s a recreational round. I believe in sinking every putt. I replace my divots and fix ball marks on greens. And so forth.

But you can be a purist to a fault. Saying that this is a “nontraditional” stroke might be true, but so what? It helps people keep playing their game. It helps keep them getting outdoors in beautiful surroundings, having fun with friends, doing something athletic, getting exercise.

I doubt that an organizing committee sat down in 1840-something and said that golf is intended to be played by swinging a club that is not anchored to your body. No. That’s just how it worked out.

The tradition of golf is that it is a sport which can be played as long as you can stay upright, which might be well into your 90s. Long after you had to give up tackle football, full court basketball, and so forth, you can play golf. Or if you were never good enough to play those sports or because of gender bias you were never able to, you can still play golf.

That is a tradition we want to foster and maintain, and if it takes anchoring your putter to make golf playable and fun (that is, not taking three strokes to the green followed by four putts, or after the first few holes putting makes your back hurt), then go ahead and anchor. I want you to play golf with me.

This week’s Golfweek magazine suggests that the professional tours might not go along with the ban if one is imposed. Wouldn’t that be something? The consequence would be that golfers the rule was intended to affect would be untouched, and golfers who really need an anchored stroke to keep playing would be out in the cold.

There are a lot of arguments for and against anchoring that I don’t have the space to go into. All I’m saying here, is that the hoo-hah seems be over the affect of anchored putting on professional competition. If that’s so, the professional tours can address it on their own. There is no need for me and my millions of peers to be affected as well.

Quite frankly, if you want to anchor and want to keep anchoring even after a ban goes into effect (the earliest would be the year 2016), go ahead. You wouldn’t get a handicap, and couldn’t play in tournaments, but if you don’t do that anyway, you won’t be losing a thing. The USGA advises us through the rules on how to play golf, but it does not command us.

Just in: GolfWorld magazine reports that Keegan Bradley will fight a ban in court and Tim Clark is making noise about the same thing. Should be interesting.

Visit www.therecreationalgolfer.com

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Autumn Golf

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The weather has changed. We’re winding down the golf season, at least in the temperate Pacific Northwest. The greens have recovered from their fall sanding, and we can play a few more rounds before the rain settles in for the duration.

Summer is about scoring — taking advantage of the gains we made over the winter. But that comes with its own pressure and we can get so caught up in what we’re doing that we forget why we’re doing it.

We play golf for our athletic recreation, to have fun with friends, maybe to have a bit of friendly competition from time to time.

We also seek golf’s beautiful, manicured surroundings. The plainest golf course is a finer place to be than the most beautiful bowling alley, and autumn is the time when any golf course is at its best.

If you play a parkland course, the trees are turning color and it’s worth the green fees just to the stroll around the grounds. The soft autumn light makes the colors of the summer course more intense as well. It’s a thrill just to be out here.

The cooler temperatures are a plus, too, at least for me. Golf in 70° weather is ideal.

The easy autumn atmosphere puts my mind at ease. Out for a stroll, hit the ball occasionally, that’s about it. With my mind more on the enjoyment of my surroundings than on playing the game, all the good things seem easier to do.

I play most at this time of year when I pick up my grandson after school. We tee off at about 3:30 and finish a few hours later when the sun is low and the day is winding down. There aren’t many people on the course so we get lots of do-overs. Between shots we just have fun talking about whatever comes up.

So here’s to Autumn Golf. We say goodbye to a lovely summer, and get in touch again with why we love this game so much.

Visit www.therecreationalgolfer.com

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Lightning on the Golf Course

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I live in a part of the country where a lightning storm is as rare as hen’s teeth. Many of you are more vulnerable to this dangerous occurrence.

A reader of this space sent me an article last week about a tragic accident on a golf course when a golfer was killed by a lighting strike. The stricken individual unfortunately failed to heed two lightning safety regulations by standing under a tree and pushing his metal golf cart. The photo below shows what was left of his golf cart and clubs.

The temperature of a lighting bolt is, according to reliable sources, over 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit. You have no chance if struck.


The inside back cover of the USGA rule book contains vital advice about what to do if you are caught on the golf course when lightning is in the area.

Seek:
1. A large permanent building (and get inside).
2. A fully enclosed metal vehicle (car, van, pickup truck).
3. A low elevation area (like a bunker).

Avoid:
1. Tall object (trees, poles).
2. Small rain and sun shelters.
3. Large open areas, wet areas, or elevated greens.
4. All metal objects (including golf clubs, golf carts, fences, electrical machinery, and power lines)

If you are caught in a lightning storm without warning, your group should spread out, get away from your clubs, squat down in a ball, tuck your head, and cover your ears (get low and get round). You cannot remain standing. When you do, you turn yourself into a lightning rod.

Do not take lightning lightly. If you can see lightning, start taking precautions. Visit the National Lightning Safety Institute for more information.

Visit www.therecreationalgolfer.com