Golf Tips

Call me a staunch golf traditionalist, but I think that bracing a club against the chest or belly when putting violates the spirit of the game. Golf has always been a two-handed, two-armed game, and I think, at the professional level at least, it should stay that way. If the complaint is that these Pros would not be able to compete on the PGA Tour without them – boo hoo, cry me a river – go out and learn to putt properly!  That’s why they made practice greens!

Long putters first appeared around 1980 and Johnny Miller is the first professional credited with using the long putter in competition. Notable professional golfers who have made the switch after their putting stroke left them are Tom Lehman, Bernhard Langer, Sam Torrance and Tim Clark. These players would have been unable to continue playing professional golf at the highest level without this new advantage.

More recently, we saw Adam Scott and Keegan Bradley win using long putters that are anchored to the body. With Scott at the Master’s, Bradley at the PGA, and now Bill Haas at the FedEx Cup, these putters have obviously gained more attention.

The R&A and the USGA have said that they see no increase in success for players using these putters, and that the issue of disallowing them has arisen only because of the high profile of the tournaments at which they have been used. Right now both bodies say they have no plans to prevent either long putters or belly putters.

I see this as a cop out. Those using the long or belly putter seem to be doing significantly better (see above) and that’s why even the young guns are using them! I agree with Mike Davis, executive director of the USGA, on this subject.  Davis said in GOLFWEEK magazine (Sept 23, 2011) “I’m a traditionalist. I don’t like it, I can’t stand the look of it.”

However, Davis also said that people are telling him that they’ll quit the game if their belly putter is taken away. They value them that much. Adam Scott says the long putter helps him with the rhythm for his short putts. Short game guru Dave Peltz says there’s less manipulation with a longer putter and that it’s also easier on the back when practicing.

I don’t have a problem with amateur golfers using long putters to help them clean up on the greens if it increases their confidence and enjoyment of the game, but I also think the time is coming where amateurs and professionals will be playing under different rules.

What do you think? Should all golfers be made to use traditional putters where only your arms and hands produce the stroke? Or, should Touring Pros alone be prevented from using the “nerve-numbing crutch” of a long putter?

Related Reading: Long Putter – An Affront to Purity or a Welcome Tool? – The New York Times Golf Blog, April 15, 2011

View the original article here