Michael Arace commentary: In the name of fairness, ban long putters
Michael Arace, The Columbus Dispatch
The USGA, governing body for golf in America, has scheduled a news conference for Tuesday, when it will announce whether it will ban "anchored" putting. It is a big deal, despite the fact that everyone already knows which way the USGA – and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, which oversees things elsewhere in the world — is leaning.
Putters are meant to be swung, just like any other club. Long putters are fine — if they are not anchored in one's belly, chest, clavicle or any other part of one's anatomy. The USGA will decree as much, and it will do it live on the Golf Channel, and streaming on the web. The ban will take effect Jan. 1, 2016.
The USGA (and R&A) touched off a hot discussion when the ban was first proposed in November. It was obvious that the game's governors were concerned that three of the previous five winners at majors — Keegan Bradley (2011 PGA Championship), Webb Simpson (2012 U.S. Open) and Ernie Els (2012 British Open) — used long putters.
Last month, Adam Scott completed a major sweep when he won the Masters with a chest putter.
Long-putter proponents have been chafing at the proposed new rule. The core of their argument goes something like this:
Anchored putting has been legal for 30 years, and to ban the practice now would be unfair; recreational players who use long putters would be hurt most; there is no statistical evidence to suggest that anchored putting provides any advantage.
Bradley, Simpson and Scott have, in so many words, forwarded these arguments. They have been backed by others, including legendary yipper Bernhard Langer, who revived his career on the Champions Tour with a chest putter.
Those who believe in the ban contend that anchored putters are indeed an advantage.
Els' infamous line rings: "As long as it's legal, I'll keep cheating like the rest of them."
Is it really cheating?
Lee Trevino, speaking to Golf Digest, said: "Now I see why they want to make this one illegal. It's like cheating. I swear to God, it's the easiest thing I've ever seen to putt with."
Trevino added that Langer "wouldn't be playing like he is if it wasn't for the long putter. It takes the pressure out."
The anchored putter was once a crutch of twitchy old men like Langer. Now, it is becoming the choice of some younger professionals, many of whom can actually putt with a short stick. Why do they anchor? Why, for instance, does 14-year-old phenom Tianling Guan have his putter stuck in his navel? Is it to make things more difficult?
The issue comes down to whether you believe people like Tiger Woods, who thinks that a golf club — any club — is meant to be swung freely. I subscribe to this view. Putting is a test of nerves, which can do weird things to small muscles of hands and wrists, especially on Sunday. Anchored putters are meant to subvert this process. Would Scott have won the Masters without a broomstick?
Arnold Palmer, during his pre-tournament confab at Bay Hill this year, said: "I've stated my position, and that is that we do not need a contraption to play the game of golf. I would hope that we'd play under one set of rules and those rules would include a ban on the long putter hooked to the body in some way, shape or form."
The USGA is one day from declaring such a ban. The PGA of America and PGA Tour might or might not go along with the ban, but they should. There is plenty of banned equipment out there, from self-correcting balls to 500-cc drivers, but most of us do not use the stuff for a very good reason: We want to play the same game, and play them down, and count them all.
Michael Arace is a sports columnist for The Dispatch.
marace@dispatch.com
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