Anchoring to be banned

Dolph Starbeam

As expected but it has now been announced. The USGA and R&A announced the adoption of Rule 14-1b of the Rules of Golf, which prohibits anchoring the club in making a stroke. The new Rule will take effect January 1, 2016.

Blog: http://bit.ly/164V1UG Infographic: http://bit.ly/10iARlx Timeline: http://bit.ly/12SaD7Y






Your thoughts?

Ilik Urgee

Love the way the USGA use images to illustrate:pac:

Didn't Keegan Bradley threaten court action if this went through?

slave1

Better off addressing slow play instead of spending time and energy on this IMHO

Felexicon

I agree with getting rid of it. It just seems to have become a way for poor putters to win tournaments without having to do much work on technique.

Henry Ford III

The game is better off without anchoring imho. Lot of anchors out there.

Dolph Starbeam

Felexicon wrote: »

I agree with getting rid of it. It just seems to have become a way for poor putters to win tournaments without having to do much work on technique.

Totally agree. Even more worrying is that more and more kids start with anchoring putters. Guan has always anchored and I heard lately that about 50% of College players in the US are using anchoring.

byronbay2

YayaBanana wrote: »

Totally agree. Even more worrying is that more and more kids start with anchoring putters. Guan has always anchored and I heard lately that about 50% of College players in the US are using anchoring.

I heard it was 70% - doesn't matter now, of course. I'm delighted they have brought this rule in - anchored putters should never have been allowed in the first place.

realgolfgeek

Ilik Urgee wrote: »

Didn't Keegan Bradley threaten court action if this went through?

that's going to be embarrassing for him !!!

I'm delighted they're getting rid of it.

Rikand

Great news!

Be awesome to have professional golfers prove they are professionals by being able to adapt to these changes

k.p.h

YAY..! Thank god they put a stop to those cheaters

Oilbeefhooked!

Great News! Will also be an end them taking their enormous 2 clublength relief /penalty drops , this always bothered me more than the anchoring itself

OneColdHand

Glad it's gone.

It will be interesting to see what the pros currently using them do. Will they continue to use them for as long as they are allowed, or will they abandon them now and try and adapt as soon as possible? I'd suggest the younger pros should be getting rid of them now and just getting on with it. The older guys might hang on a bit longer.

I've never even tried to use any anchoring technique. I wonder is there any merit in using a longer putter but just not anchoring it?

I presume this rule is also affects amateurs right?

John Divney

Never paid any attention to the style, is it based on shoulder rotation or pendulum using the anchor?

Is the arc straight back and through or in/straight/in?

Nedser101

I wonder will the PGA go it alone ?

Ilik Urgee

Henry Ford III wrote: »

The game is better off without anchoring imho. Lot of anchors out there.

+1
There's a fair fe wanchors on the golf courses up and down the country.

ForeRight

I'm not a fan of anchored putters but at the end of the day it was a device that was available to all players to use.

Similar to balls that spin loads, drivers with slots in them for extra ping, big gigantic putter heads etc etc.


Why not have all golfers use the exact same equipment across the board and not just ban anchored putters purely because anchors have won a lot of majors/tourneys.

More golfers are using the anchor putter therefore there has been more chance of an anchor man winning.

I saw butch harmon say earlier that golf in the states is the only professional sport which is governed by an amateur organisation.

Senecio

Oilbeefhooked! wrote: »

Great News! Will also be an end them taking their enormous 2 clublength relief /penalty drops , this always bothered me more than the anchoring itself

I've never seen a golfer who uses a long putter, use it to determine his dropping area. Not that the rules forbid it, I've just never seen it.

LinksLad

I'm a pretty poor golfer, over all, but one thing I do well is that I can putt better than anyone else I know,
Looking at my stats, I have 3x 3 putts for my last 5 competative rounds.
This weekend I tried out a chin-anchored putter. - With good technique, I found that I could not neither push nor pull a shot. If I read it well, and got the pace, in she went.

No fair!

Russman

ForeRight wrote: »

I saw butch harmon say earlier that golf in the states is the only professional sport which is governed by an amateur organisation.

IMO that's neither here nor there. Pros don't know some magic secret that the amateurs don't with regard to anchoring.
What difference does it make whether someone who has an opinion is an amateur or a pro ?

If the PGA Tour want to allow anchoring, fine, but its not golf they will be playing, its something else. Which they're quite entitled to do obviously.

IMHO you can't have the rules designed or changed just to suit a few who can't/won't putt properly. As long as they want pro golf and amateur golf to remain the same sport you can't have an organisation with a vested interest, that represents a tiny, tiny percentage of golfers, running it.

Goldenjohn

I see from the illustrations that anchoring on the forearm is ok. Looks like matt Kuchar will be unaffected so.

Dolph Starbeam

Goldenjohn wrote: »

I see from the illustrations that anchoring on the forearm is ok. Looks like matt Kuchar will be unaffected so.

I think that is the correct decision too. The end of the club isn't pivoted from one point so he still swings the club.

PhlegmyMoses

Only recently taken up golf but I seem to naturally anchor a normal putter against the belly. Considering how poor I am at putting, this would most likely lead to an improvement!

That being said, it seems weird to me that they'd outlaw this practice in particular. How is this different to say, using a really fat grip like Ernie Els or KJ Choi in order to improve the putting? Is it really that much more of an advantage? Also, why don't all players use it if it is so good? Genuine noob questions here.

Russman

PhlegmyMoses wrote: »

Also, why don't all players use it if it is so good? Genuine noob questions here.

I think its as simple as it works for some, not for others. There's a stat thrown around that over 50% of college golfers in the States are using it, if this is true then its a sign that it is actually better.

The issue the USGA and R&A are addressing though is that the club should be swung freely with no pivot point.
Of course they should have dealt with it 25 years ago but I don't think there's ever a bad time to do the right thing.

PhlegmyMoses

Russman wrote: »

I think its as simple as it works for some, not for others. There's a stat thrown around that over 50% of college golfers in the States are using it, if this is true then its a sign that it is actually better.

The issue the USGA and R&A are addressing though is that the club should be swung freely with no pivot point.
Of course they should have dealt with it 25 years ago but I don't think there's ever a bad time to do the right thing.

Cheers, so it comes down to how golf should be played, rather than being some kind of equipment issue. This is why the broom handles and longer putters are still okay to use, as long as they aren't anchored.

Oilbeefhooked!

Senecio wrote: »

I've never seen a golfer who uses a long putter, use it to determine his dropping area. Not that the rules forbid it, I've just never seen it.

Seen it loads of times , marcel siem is one I saw recently - ball was in lateral water hazard and the 2 long putter lengths got him nearly to the top of the sloping bank(flat area ) where as 2 driver lengths would have left him with a much more hanging lie!!

slave1

The plot thickens, some legal steps in the offing perhaps?

ssbob

Definitely agree with this but other issues need to be sorted out aswell within the game and really they shouldn't have to wait until 2016 to bring it in.....I believe in a fair amount of time to allow people to adjust but 3 years is ridiculous!

Russman

Can't honestly see the point of a legal challenge.......other than purely self interest from the lads currently anchoring.

I mean, if the 8 or 9 guys were to win, presumably the PGA Tour would have to allow anchoring, but the USGA likely won't have to as they're responsible for amateur golf and not impacting on anyone's right to earn a living. Yet all pros come from the amateur ranks, so after a few years any amateur wanting to turn pro and good enough to turn pro will have become that good without anchoring.

I'd have thought the courts should say to Tim Clarke something along the lines of "this rule isn't stopping you from playing golf and earning a living, now stop wasting our time",...........swiftly followed by "sure you can't f---ing chip anyway" !! Whether a pro earns a living is largely dependent on how the other pros play, he can only effect his own score but if everyone shoots better he won't get paid, anchored putter or not. Surely golf doesn't have a duty to make it easier for certain players who struggle to putt ? Silly analogy, but can a player who is a terrible driver of the ball then ask to play off the forward tees as he can't compete off the tips...........? FFS !!

Also, as the rule doesn't ban any equipment, its simply a case of a ruling body or bodies defining or re-defining how their sport is played. How can this be wrong ? Surely that's the least a governing body is entitled to do ? Golf can't be defined by the needs of 10 players who don't like the way its played. In essence its really no different to, say, the NFL banning a certain type of tackle, or changing the number of points awarded for a touchdown. In golfing terms its not even similar to banning the "springy faced" drivers which happened without too much of a fuss.

Could it lead to, or would the courts be concerned with possible knock on effects ? Bifurcation of he rules, different majors with different rules, different tours with different rules. How would the Ryder Cup work ?

Or something more serious like eg a country as big and powerful as China saying they no longer wish golf in their country to be governed by the R&A, that they'll play "USPGA golf" thank you very much, granted it'd be a different sport but still..............

baboo800

The pga tour have confirmed that anchoring the putter will be banned


http://www1.skysports.com/golf/news/12232/8801493/The-ban-on-anchored-putting-strokes-will-apply-to-PGA-Tour-events

FixdePitchmark

Early yet - but will be interesting to see how this pans out

Scott the biggest deal I guess
Kucher
Ernie
Bradley
Simpson

There are not that many really. But impact very large for them.

Scott definitely less prominent these days ?
What is he doing at moment - regular putter ?

BigChap1759

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

Early yet - but will be interesting to see how this pans out

Scott the biggest deal I guess
Kucher
Ernie
Bradley
Simpson

There are not that many really. But impact very large for them.

Scott definitely less prominent these days ?
What is he doing at moment - regular putter ?

Kuch is not impacted - arm lock style is not banned

CMOTDibbler

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

Early yet - but will be interesting to see how this pans out

Scott the biggest deal I guess
Kucher
Ernie
Bradley
Simpson

There are not that many really. But impact very large for them.

Scott definitely less prominent these days ?
What is he doing at moment - regular putter ?

Well it certainly affected Bradley. So much so that he lost count of the number of clubs in his bag

Rikand

Be itneresting to see which players have quit who said they were going to quit.

Cant remember names, but Carl Pettersen and Bill Haas stick out in my mind.

Rikand

Be itneresting to see which players have quit who said they were going to quit.

Cant remember names, but Carl Pettersen and Bill Haas stick out in my mind.

Mantis Toboggan

Whats happening with benhard Langer?

CMOTDibbler

Tyson Fury wrote: »

Whats happening with benhard Langer?

As far as I know, Langer never actually anchored the putter, at least he didn't do it while he was still playing the regular tour. Not sure what he does now.

Montgolfier

Can't anchor but your caddy can line you up. LPGA I'm referring to seen it a lot.

CMOTDibbler

Montgolfier wrote: »

Can't anchor but your caddy can line you up. LPGA I'm referring to seen it a lot.

I'm not sure why people seem to think this is a problem. The caddie could be just as wrong as you can and can't take the putt for you. How different is it from the caddie telling his player what line to take an approach shot on and what club to use?

yipsnomore

CMOTDibbler wrote: »

I'm not sure why people seem to think this is a problem. The caddie could be just as wrong as you can and can't take the putt for you. How different is it from the caddie telling his player what line to take an approach shot on and what club to use?

Where you think you're aiming and where you're actually aiming are quite often different. Being told a target is completely different to being lined up.