The Open 2012: Ernie Els and Adam Scott's use of controversial long putters gives rule makers belly ache This has been going on for 15 or 20 years, but it's just been such a small group of golfers - it was one of the last-resort-type things. Now, in the last year and a half, that's changed. Tiger Woods is among the top players who have urged the authorities to act, with three players in the top 20 using the putter (Scott, Bradley and Matt Kuchar). Woods revealed earlier this year that he has raised the issue with Peter Dawson, the chief executive of the R&A. "I've talked to Peter about this for a number of years and gone back and forth of how we could word it," said Woods. My idea was to have it so that the putter would be equal to or less than the shortest club in your bag. I think with that we'd be able to get away from any type of belly anchoring. Woods has heard that the R&A and USGA are ready to focus on the stroke rather than the club, but doubts whether that is the right decision. "You can still anchor the putter like Bernhard Langer did, against the arm," he said. But that's still the art of swinging the club. Davis outlined why the debate is so complicated. The R&A and USGA have held a meeting here this week, as well as at the season's two first majors. The discussions have been laborious as they have delved into the detail and wording of the rulebook. If you want to ban something, what do you want to ban? Because you just say the word "anchoring," it can mean a lot of different things," said Davis. And it's not just putting, either. There are clubs now where you can anchor a club underneath your armpit and pitch that way. The point is, there's a lot more to this than just somebody with a belly putting. Yet despite the complexities, there is a palpable desire to make a definitive decision soon. Dawson said this week: "I think it's incumbent on us to make our position reasonably clear in months rather than years." Davis concurred: "Whatever gets done is going to be tough in the short run. If we decide to do nothing, that decision - I mean, that indecision, if you will - is actually a decision. If we decide to do nothing, it's really unfair to the game of golf and to future governing bodies. Any rules changes could not come into effect until 2016, allowing players time to reacclimatise to the short stick. The threat of some of the aggrieved making contacts with lawyers - or vice versa - is obvious.