OT: huge golf presser Tuesday at 8:00AM

[Blakeon18]

The Golf Channel will carry it....I assume this is about whether they will ban the anchored putter.
The USGA and the R&A are for the ban....the PGA is against it. IMO....it has to be uniform...if the USGA [who runs our Open] and the R&A [who runs the British Open] ban it and the PGA allows it, it will be a mess when players who use it try to play in non-anchored events.

I would hope it is banned all over. I saw a Golf Channel piece where they demonstrated how players could still steady their stroke by placing the putter against their lower arm....it would be allowed if the ban is enacted. The anchored stroke doesn't look like a stroke to me.....or to Arnie or Tiger. It would not ban the long putter....just the anchoring of it.

Banning it...but allowing it till 2016 is ridiculous [that date has been mentioned]...ban it starting in January 2014.

Next up....I hope...regulate the ball....the distances guys are getting make some courses obselete...not every par 4 should be a driver and short iron...and no par 5's should be.

 

[Icebear]

I don't have a problem with long putters although I do not use one and find them incredibly awkward.

I do believe they need to address ball issues and other related distance generating factors for the reasons you state, blake.

 

[pap49cba]

I remain convinced that the poobahs basic problem with anchoring is they don't like the way it looks. If it was the universal panacea they suggest it is everyone one on every professional tour would be doing it.

I do absolutely agree about the ball... Like Nero, the USGA, R&A, etc. are fiddling while Rome burns. I watch very little PGA Tour golf these days as I cannot relate to players hitting 5 irons on 235 yd holes.

 

[UcMiami]

I can understand the thinking on banning the anchored putter as it is a recent development and a fundamental change in the way a shot os played. Don't really care myself but can see 'purists' getting upset.
The laws on the groves on clubs also was similar to the issue with ball and club design as players were able to generate and control spin to an extraordinary degree that made iron shots into greens very different from what went before. And I agree that the technology has made many old and beautiful courses obsolete and made others alter designs to add length and or difficulty. (Masters did both.) Some of it is based on the changing physique of golfers - Many pros today would easily outdistance pros from 50 years ago using the same clubs and balls - but that probably accounts for only 10-15% of the length and maybe 5% of the accuracy.

 

[slimmer56]

Let's hear it for Blakeon. The FIRST thing to do in golf, is to change the damn golf ball. Blakeon is 100% correct. All the old gorgeous, world-class courses are getting obsolete. It is a shame too. They extended Augusta a few years back to make it longer. Now, they have run out of room. Tiger-proofing !

 

[Blakeon18]

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golftalkcentral/usga-r-and-a-announce-ban-on-anchored-stroke/

Decision made...ban it...no surprise.

 

[boontonbomber]

the pga's statement regarding the rule change expresses their disappointment with the decision, because of the effect it will have on recreational golfers. what a crock! there are 200 players at the club i play at, and very few , including the best players, use a long putter. they are very difficult to use, so most amateurs just are not using them. it's clear that the pga's major concern is with their players who use the anchoring. at the same time, at the end of their statement they encourage golfers to get together with their pga professional to help them transition to a legal putting stroke. i think that, in the end, the pga will have to go along with the groups responsible for making the rules of the game.

 

[baggerbob]

The USGA and R + A are good at making up useless rules, but when it comes time to fix real problems, like the balls they ignore it as they always have.

 

[EricLA]

The USGA and R + A are good at making up useless rules, but when it comes time to fix real problems, like the balls they ignore it as they always have.

what is wrong with the balls? I'll admit I don't follow golf, except when Tiger is in the news. But IIRC i've read/heard that the balls are able to be hit too far? Many feel they should be less "bouncy"? Or is it something else?

 

[VAMike23]

what is wrong with the balls? I'll admit I don't follow golf, except when Tiger is in the news. But IIRC i've read/heard that the balls are able to be hit too far? Many feel they should be less "bouncy"? Or is it something else?

It's that with each year, with new advances, the ball flies further and further. IME, over the last 40 years this has probably added at least 15% more carry to (properly hit) shots. Other factors are responsible for additional increases.

 

[VAMike23]

The USGA and R + A are good at making up useless rules, but when it comes time to fix real problems, like the balls they ignore it as they always have.

Jack would agree re: the ball

 

[Waquoit]

It's the right call. Not the biggest Rick Reilly fan, but his take convinced me it's cheating.

I thought the big news was going to be that Tiger was playing in the GHO, I mean Travellers.

 

[freescooter]

Equipment improvements, balls and clubs, have been huge over the past few decades. Balls in particular. I recently played a course I learned on years ago and it wasn't overly long but usually required a driver and mid to short irons...par 4s were typically between 300 and 330 with 1 par 5 in the 450 range. I am nowhere near as good a player as the last time I played there (wife, kids,house, elderly parents, coaching soccer and softball, going to kids competitions all kept me from the game from when I used to play 2 nights a week and every weekend) but now most holes are driver, wedge. Even drove one of the shorter par 4s, something I never did 25 years ago. I happened to pull out an old book by Ben Hogan the other day and he listed his average distances with each club. It started with a Driver: 250 yards. That wouldn't even put you in the club championship these days.

 

[ed4ourgirls]

The USGA and R + A are good at making up useless rules, but when it comes time to fix real problems, like the balls they ignore it as they always have.

I'm guessing that if the ruling bodies tried to do anything about the balls and
clubs, they'd be looking at lawsuits from the equipment manufacturers.

Even if the suit was weak, its nuisance value might deter those wanting to make changes.

 

[Scotter]

I'm guessing that if the ruling bodies tried to do anything about the balls and
clubs, they'd be looking at lawsuits from the equipment manufacturers.

Even if the suit was weak, its nuisance value might deter those wanting to make changes.

It's not just the lawsuits. It is the money the equipment manufacturers provide to sponsor both individual golfers and events. The professional golfers may not personally mind going back to lesser equipment, but they would mind seeing their personal endorsement money from equipment companies decrease.

Similarly in Nascar drivers can criticize Nascar itself without penalty, but if the drivers criticize the car itself or how it drives then the drivers get heavily fined. Why? Because criticizing the car in any way pisses off Chevy, Ford, and Toyota, and the car manufacturers are the single most important source of funding.

Someone may argue that you can call the manufactures bluff because they're still going to spend their advertising money anyway, but that's not a risk most sanctioning bodies and players in any sport are willing to take.

 

[vtcwbuff]

I don't have a problem with the long putter. It's not like the player is using something for an advantage that is not available to other players.

While I agree that equipment changes have improved distances to the point where pro club yardages are ridiculous, I'm not sure that the USGA should be the one to rein in ball distance. The same improvements that have boosted pro distances have also gone a long way to make the game more approachable for the average golfer. The PGA is the body that needs to get a handle on ball performance.

Anyone remember the Sam Snead putting controversy?

 

[Icebear]

I don't have a problem with the long putter. It's not like the player is using something for an advantage that is not available to other players.

While I agree that equipment changes have improved distances to the point where pro club yardages are ridiculous, I'm not sure that the USGA should be the one to rein in ball distance. The same improvements that have boosted pro distances have also gone a long way to make the game more approachable for the average golfer. The PGA is the body that needs to get a handle on ball performance.

Anyone remember the Sam Snead putting controversy?

Croquet anyone.

 

[Blakeon18]

BTW: as long as we are passing along our collective wisdom to the Rulers of The Game here is one more:

The LPGA [as far as I know...nobody else]] allows caddies to line players up by standing behind them as they take their stances.....then move out of that position before the swing starts. That tour should ban that manuever....aligning yourself properly
is a skill...some better than others at it. If you are awful at it...learn to do it better.

 

[boontonbomber]

BTW: as long as we are passing along our collective wisdom to the Rulers of The Game here is one more:

The LPGA [as far as I know...nobody else]] allows caddies to line players up by standing behind them as they take their stances.....then move out of that position before the swing starts. That tour should ban that manuever....aligning yourself properly
is a skill...some better than others at it. If you are awful at it...learn to do it better.

that should certainly be stopped, along with the guys i play with making use of distance devices. old tom morris must be rolling in his grave over a lot of this stuff.

 

[pap49cba]

BTW: as long as we are passing along our collective wisdom to the Rulers of The Game here is one more:

The LPGA [as far as I know...nobody else]] allows caddies to line players up by standing behind them as they take their stances.....then move out of that position before the swing starts. That tour should ban that manuever....aligning yourself properly
is a skill...some better than others at it. If you are awful at it...learn to do it better.

Blake, it is not true that this is strictly an LPGA issue. It is permissible under the ROG. I had an exchange of emails with one of the USGA rules section members a few years ago about this very subject.

 

[Blakeon18]

I'm surprised to hear that. I don't think I have ever seen a caddie do that on the PGA tour. Hmmm...the USGA runs our Open...I'll be looking for that during the telecasts from Merion.

Ban it here, there and everywhere....imo.