Rules and Rants

In the interest of full disclosure, I admit to using a belly putter. In fact, I’m in love with my belly putter... it has changed my golfing life.

No longer do I sweat over 3 footers, no more mumbling to myself all the way to the next teeing ground after 3-putting. I’ve gone from a streaky, inconsistent putter to a consistently good, sometimes great putter.

However, I’m willing to fall on my sword (so to speak) and submit that belly putters and long putters should not be permitted under The Rules of Golf. This is not necessarily the opinion of the Royal Canadian Golf Assocaition Rules Committee, or of others on staff here at Golf House, it is simply my own tormented take on a very ‘hot button’ issue these days.

I think being able to anchor the club fundamentally goes against the principles of having to fairly strike the ball and handle all the nerves that sometimes make the hands do funny things. I’m sure many golf fans across Canada disagree with me. I want to know what you think.

Golfweek has an excellent article on the subject here.

Should belly putters and long putters be deemed illegal under The Rules of Golf? Have your say at our Facebook page or email your responses to egolf@golfcanada.ca. We’ll post any responses and the results of our Facebook poll below.

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Facebook poll: Should belly putters be permitted under the Rules of Golf?

As at 4:03 pm on Friday, February 24th, 2012.

41 - Yes

32 - No

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Comments from readers:

Sheila Dichiara: "Amateurs can play any sport with whatever equipment they wish and set up the rules according to their ability.

Therefore bringing amateurs into the equation of what putter should be allowed in professional golf is moot.

Golf is not only a game of skill it is also a mental game. It is the mental game that causes more nerves when performing. The golfer who can control the mental pressure of tournament competition along with personal life pressures usually has the most success.

Professional golfers are constantly telling us how they have to bring their game from the driving range to the course. No mental pressure.

The putter is designed the same as all other clubs. To be held in the hands and swung free of the body. Length of putter is inconsequential.

Golf requires skill and excellent nerves under pressure. If you as a professional cannot attain these skills you have to accept the fact you do not have the talent to compete in professional golf. There have been many talented professionals who have had to make that decision due to their inability to stirke the ball well off the tee or their performance on the putting green.

Any putter that is fixed against any part of the body that enhances the ability to control nerves under pressure should not be allowed in the professional game of golf.

The tournament player is the cream of golf. They play on the best courses with everything groomed to perfection, swing coaches on hand,a caddy to guide them through their game, help with club selection and asist them in their mental approach

We the fan should at least be treated with excellence of performance."

Richard Courtland: "As long as there is one set of rules you have to allow the belly putters. Now if there was two sets, pro and amateur, you could outlaw them."

John Gordon: "I am for belly putters, separate rules for recreational and tournament golfers, and anything else that makes golf easier and more fun for the average golfer. Who knows? It might even attract new players!"

Val Scoffield: "I do NOT think that belly putters should be banned !! So far the Royal and Ancient and the USGA seem of the opinion that we do not want to venture into two sets of rules (bifurcation) and I agree totally with that idea."

Jeri Santarossa: "I've got an idea, lets ban the short putter!!!!!!!!"

Murray Blair: "I don't believe the belly putter is bad for the game of golf at any level. Why ban it? Some golfers are better putters with it, and some are not. We have changed many things about the game over the years and many of those changes served to level the playing field a little (cavity back irons, shafts that are fitted according to a players needs, ball's that perform according to each players needs, just to name a few), yet the cream still rises to the top."

Cindy Wegg: "No - you shouldn't be permitted to anchor any club."

Roch Ouellet: "No I do not think they should be permitted under the present format.

I have no problem with long putters of any kind as long as the manual use of them is not mechanically aided by anchoring to a third point on the body, that it be on the belly, the chest or the chin There should be a maximum of two anchorage points.

Therefore if someone wants to anchor his putter in his mid section, chin or whatever and use one hand only to stroke then I have no problem with it as long as the second hand does not come in contact with the putter.

Because I believe that two hands and a third anchoring points offers a mechanical advantage."

Murray Blair: "I don't believe the belly putter is bad for the game of golf at any level. Why ban it? Some golfers are better putters with it, and some are not. We have changed many things about the game over the years and many of those changes served to level the playing field a little (cavity back irons, shafts that are fitted according to a players needs, ball's that perform according to each players needs, just to name a few), yet the cream still rises to the top."

Conor O'Shea: "Geoff Mangum commented on USGA, R&A may not spare belly putters after all.

As a lawyer and a putting instructor and a traditionalist, allow me to say.

1) that the putter never reads the putt, aims the putter, or swings the putter online with good touch;.

2) that writing a rule that bans a certain stroke is pretty easy and already exists (e.g., stroke cannot "push, scrape or spoon" the ball and the ball must be "fairly struck") and even vague language stating a principle is pretty easy to enforce among HONEST golfers, while it is really only difficult to enforce among CHEATERS deliberately violating the Rule and trying not to get caught -- every golfers KNOWS whether he positioned the handle in contact with his body and also whether he HELD it there while making the stroke;.

3) that the Rules define the traditions of the game, and do not really require how any disabled or untalented person has to play the game -- anyone is free to play the game they way they HAVE to and are welcome to enjoy themselves without playing by the Rules the way they might WANT to, but are not allowed to play illegally in competition or in official rounds to establish a competition handicap;.

4) that golfers with a bad back can still use long putters without anchoring them to the body;.

5) that the yips are not necessary helped by anchoring a putter to the body, since the golfer still usually employs the offending YIPPY HAND when swinging the belly or long putter, whereas Bernard Langer pinned the handle to his left forearm to ELIMINATE the influence of the dominant right hand, something that belly putting and long putting does not accomplish by itself;.

5) that anchoring a belly putter to the body gives a bio-mechanics trade-off, some good and some harmful -- a belly putter hurts touch for long putts and helps unskilled golfers sometimes on short putts without improving what a skilled golfer can perform with a conventional putter and stroke, and the harm is BECAUSE the anchoring makes the swing a shorter pendulum than the conventional putting stroke, which is a more violent and more up-and-up curling swing that makes smooth touch harder to perform;.

6) that golf is a game of skill, not equipment solutions for golfers lacking skill -- the difference is whether golf is merely a "recreation" like a walk in the country or a picnic where there is no real skill needed to enjoy the day, or whether golf is a "sport" that challenges the golfer to use the body skillfully and knowledgeably for perception and movement choice and execution to meet the challenge of the course -- it's frankly a VERY BAD IDEA to allow the money-driven recreation aspect of golf to degrade the traditions and skills of the game so that more people will enjoy their day and spend more cash into golf -- that's the equivalent of changing the Rules of basketball so that the rim is BIGGER and LOWER so that old, fat, or unskilled players can sink more layups;.

7) that the weakness of golf in attracting and keeping players is not due to physical difficulty in putting (get real!) -- it mostly come from the way the PGA of American and the PGA Tour and golf Media have encouraged the notion that 7,300-yard, economically unviable golf courses in private gated real-estate fortresses that cost an arm and a leg to schedule with diffident pros in shops selling schlock and that take a day and a half to get around behind foursomes of fat hacks smoking cigars only half of which have taken a full-swing lesson from a lackluster teacher each taking all day to hit out of the weeds and reading their 45-foot putts chasing an impossible "par" standard that no one other than 0.02% of golfers even attain is the way to attract Baby Boomers, Females, Blacks, Hispanics, and Juniors to this "fun sport";.

8) the game has never been "too hard" for beginners -- ask Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson.

9) that the PURPOSE of the USGA is emphatically not to help resort owner and course owners cash in with their often ill-advised business models by degrading the skills of the sport of golf more in the direction of a recreational offering of the property generating income that at least keeps up with the wedding, business meeting, catering, and spa functions of "the club", but to PROTECT the traditions and skills of the game FROM these ever-present pressures of those wanting to cash in on golf, including people selling belly putters -- the game can and should be played in open fields with holes in the ground and reasonable equipment, and does not require the expense and burden of million-dollar clubhouses, valet parking, Tour players to worship, and $500 clubs in the bag strapped to the eco-friendly golf chariot complete with GPS and contour maps of the green surface and computer programs suggesting "reads" for your putt. Vive la Tradition!"

Ray Smart: "I agree with Matthew Mackay that belly putters or any putter anchored to the body should not be allowed in golf."