The newly proposed change deals with the actual stroke a player would make and not the equipment or the length of the equipment. Therefore, when a player who uses either a belly putter or a long putter they would no longer be permitted to "anchor" the putter against their body in any way. The R&A and USGA are considering this an advantage to anchor a stroke and would consider it a breach of the rules. So, in quick laymans terms if the rule is adopted by 2016 player will no longer be permitted to anchor any club against their body while making a stroke.
As a PGA Professional we are charged with growing the game of golf and making it a fun and enjoyable sport for every player. Generally when a player makes a change to a longer putter and begins to anchor it they have done so for a reason.......because the struggle with the conventional method! A players overall enjoyment of the game significantly decreases if the scores they shoot are higher because they struggle on the greens to get the ball in the hole. Rarely do I ever see a beginner start out with a longer length putter, they just don't do that. However, I know many players that have struggled mightily for years with a conventional length (34" - 35") putter including myself and my own son. After 20 years of multiple 3 putt rounds I decided to change to a belly length putter. Almost immediately my putting improved as the anchor helped me stay more quiet with my hands and allowed me to use my shoulders more as I made my swing. My son was the same; as he played competitive high school golf then collegiate he struggled with 3-5 three putt rounds on average. In 2012 he reluctantly made the change to a longer belly putter and to his surprise his 3 putts virtually disappeared. (occaisional ones but more from hitting it in the wrong spot) My point is that players make a choice to switch to these clubs for a reason and their overall enjoyment of the game significantly improves. Players will need to modify the way they hold the club once the rule is adopted and my hopes is that their enjoyment does not go down.
Here's what I do know......I currently don't use a belly putter anymore as I had found another putter model that I wanted to try. (Most golfers collect putters, drivers and wedges! My basement is full of them) My conventional stroke significantly improved because I learned to use my shoulders as the way to make my stroke instead of using more of my hands. For those that are currently using a belly or longer putter, now is the time to start experimenting with new grips, stances, etc to find what will work for you.
There has been talk of bifurcation between the tour and amatuer players (this would be two seperate rules for each) but I would doubt that you will see this happen as tour players wouldn't want an asterics next tour their name for winning an event.
I have included a slide that shows the timeline for the rule change as well as some acceptable and unacceptable methods of holding the putter. For more information about this rule change you can visit the United States Golf Association website at www.usga.org and read the articles and view all the photos of acceptable/unacceptable methods.
Thanks for reading our blog, if you have any comments regarding this rules issue I would love to hear them and can be contacted by email at cthomson@wildernessridgegolf.com
Tomorrows topic - The importance of proper GRIP-AIM-STANCE & POSTURE
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