Big news in the golf world today. The two governing bodies of golf, the United States Golf Association (USGA) and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) have released their proposed ruling on anchoring and long putters. Much debate and reaction has and will continue. The proposed ruling will take effect in January of 2016. Lets take a look.
Allowed
The long putters themselves are not banned in this ruling. So if you have a long putter, you may continue to use it. How you use it is another story.
Disallowed
The key word in this ruling is "anchoring." Players may no longer anchor a club to their body. Below are examples of anchoring:
- Allowing part of the club to be braced against the body, like when a belly putter is put on the belly of the player. Another example is the style Adam Scott uses, where the long putter is anchored in the upper chest.
- Forearms may not be anchored against the body either. So putting a forearm against the chest or parts of the torso will not be allowed.
The image to the right shows what will not be allowed, should the ruling be enacted.
Here is the core of the ruling, from the UGSA website:
| Proposed Changes to Rule 14-1 The proposed change would relabel current Rule 14-1 as Rule 14-1a, and establish Rule 14-1b as described below: |
| 14-1b Anchoring the Club In making a stroke, the player must not anchor the club, either “directly” or by use of an “anchor point.” Note 1: The club is anchored “directly” when the player intentionally holds the club or a gripping hand in contact with any part of his body, except that the player may hold the club or a gripping hand against a hand or forearm. Note 2: An “anchor point” exists when the player intentionally holds a forearm in contact with any part of his body to establish a gripping hand as a stable point around which the other hand may swing the club. |
