COMMUNITY

I just logged on to make a similar comment. My comment was this: How bad of a rule did the USGA and R&A make that allows for the long putter but regulates against anchoring?
I can say the same for Bernard Langer.

They made a rule that you cannot enforce. How do you prove the putter is not anchored? And is that putter within the "spirit of the rule?"

For the record I was not in favor of the rule, but now that it is in the books you have to abide by it.

I haven't seen any video but would placing your thumb or hand between the top of the putter and your chest be considered legal since the putter wouldn't be anchored to the chest?

Yes, that should be legal.

Let me clarify...thumb can be on top but cannot touch your chest. There must be space between your body and the putter.

I see what you're getting at, but I disagree. Lots of elderly players use the long putter just so that their vertebrae doesn't collapse on itself. Ban the putter entirely, and those guys probably can't golf anymore, or at least not nearly as much as they once could. Besides, you'd still have to draw the line somewhere as to what's too long since people of various heights play the game and bend down to put in their own unique ways.

I'm more in favor of keeping people in the game and will accept the risk someone wins a prestigious event by keeping the butt end of their putter half a millimeter from their chest.

Perhaps in your work environment you have seen a lot of seniors using the long putter. In the senior leagues I have witness here, very few use a long putter plus they play quite regularly all year long. Since golf is a game that can be played no matter what the age, most likely these "elderly" people will be paying your salary in the near future. Btw I have seen more golfers in their 20's and 30's using a long putter then seniors.

Maybe you play more than I do. But can tell you that playing at least once a week, I have never, ever seen anyone using a long putter in recreational play.

I have a feeling there will eventually be some controversy about those folks (Langer, Mccarron) that appear to be anchoring the putter to their chest. After watching him putt a few times, it sure appeared to me that he was anchoring. Maybe they need to modify the rule so that competitors can clearly see daylight between the handle or hand and the chest. We'll see...

I hate seeing it used on tour, especially when it appears to be anchored. Perhaps the need to look at it through the same lens they looked at DJ's moved ball in the open with. Perhaps a tweek to the rule to include the phrase "must be held far enough from the body to clearly show that it is not anchored" or include "If the players shirt is touching the hand it's considered to be anchored".

Or the microscopic piece of sand that Anna Nordqvist touched in the bunker as she made her swing. They had to zoom in with the camera to even see the fleck of sand that moved. Sheesh...

Yeah, that was over the top. She wasn't 'testing' the surface which is what I understand the rule is trying to prevent.