Putting is without doubt the most important part of any golfer’s game. Playing golf in regulation means that almost half of your shots should be taken with a putter so no matter how good your long game is if you don’t putt well you won’t score well.
The history of golf has seen many supremely talented golfers underachieve thanks to their short comings on the greens. Golfing legends like Bernhard Langer and Johnny Miller were majestic in getting the ball from tee to green but unfortunately they suffered from the yips which no doubt will visit all golfers at some stage of their careers. If you have suffered from the yips you will know it is no laughing matter as there is nothing more demoralising than striking the ball perfectly all day only to three-putt your way to yet another mediocre score.
Difficulties with the flat stick have led to players coming up with all sorts of ways to combat the yips. From left hand low to the ghastly claw grip many golfers all over the world continue to struggle to find the solution. In recent years the manufacturers joined the fight and we have seen an emergence of long putters both belly and broom handle.
Once upon a time these contraptions were the laughing stock of the professional tours and any player with one in the bag would no doubt be the butt of a considerable amount of jokes. As more and more players turn to the bellies and the broom handles to solve their putting woes the debate over the legality of these clubs has become more and more prominent and indeed relevant. In fact the last three weeks have seen three consecutive wins on the PGA Tour for players who have wielded long putters. The real spark to the debate was Keegan Bradley who, at the PGA Championship, became the first player to win a major championship without a conventional putter.
The rules of golf demand the club to be a free swinging instrument and at no time can the club be anchored to the body. Both belly and broom handle putters provide a third point of contact with the body and some have suggested that the clubs should be outlawed.
Is there an advantage to using a long putter? Legendary short game coach Dave Pelz has suggested in the past that they prevent the golfer from breaking their wrists and rolling their forearms which are the two cardinal sins of putting. In many cases long putters are only turned to as a last resort by players who are growing disillusioned by the game thanks to their problems on the greens. This hasn’t stopped major players in the game calling for these clubs to be banned.
Purists like Tiger Woods and Ernie Els have signalled their disapproval in the past but Els has since turned to the belly putter to recapture the magic that saw him competing with Tiger in his prime.
Neither the R&A nor the USGA have moved to outlaw these clubs so the debate still rages on and with increasing amounts of players using long putters to win big tournaments week in week out the debate is set to become hotter and hotter as time goes on.
What are your views on long putters? Does anyone have one in the bag are you one of the purists who believes they are cheating sticks? Let us know what you think?
Putting is without doubt the most important part of any golfer’s game. Playing golf in regulation means that almost half of your shots should be taken with a putter so no matter how good your long game is if you don’t putt well you won’t score well.
The history of golf has seen many supremely talented golfers underachieve thanks to their short comings on the greens. Golfing legends like Bernhard Langer and Johnny Miller were majestic in getting the ball from tee to green but unfortunately they suffered from the yips which no doubt will visit all golfers at some stage of their careers. If you have suffered from the yips you will know it is no laughing matter as there is nothing more demoralising than striking the ball perfectly all day only to three-putt your way to yet another mediocre score.
Difficulties with the flat stick have led to players coming up with all sorts of ways to combat the yips. From left hand low to the ghastly claw grip many golfers all over the world continue to struggle to find the solution. In recent years the manufacturers joined the fight and we have seen an emergence of long putters both belly and broom handle.
Once upon a time these contraptions were the laughing stock of the professional tours and any player with one in the bag would no doubt be the butt of a considerable amount of jokes. As more and more players turn to the bellies and the broom handles to solve their putting woes the debate over the legality of these clubs has become more and more prominent and indeed relevant. In fact the last three weeks have seen three consecutive wins on the PGA Tour for players who have wielded long putters. The real spark to the debate was Keegan Bradley who, at the PGA Championship, became the first player to win a major championship without a conventional putter.
The rules of golf demand the club to be a free swinging instrument and at no time can the club be anchored to the body. Both belly and broom handle putters provide a third point of contact with the body and some have suggested that the clubs should be outlawed.
Is there an advantage to using a long putter? Legendary short game coach Dave Pelz has suggested in the past that they prevent the golfer from breaking their wrists and rolling their forearms which are the two cardinal sins of putting. In many cases long putters are only turned to as a last resort by players who are growing disillusioned by the game thanks to their problems on the greens. This hasn’t stopped major players in the game calling for these clubs to be banned.
Purists like Tiger Woods and Ernie Els have signalled their disapproval in the past but Els has since turned to the belly putter to recapture the magic that saw him competing with Tiger in his prime.
Neither the R&A nor the USGA have moved to outlaw these clubs so the debate still rages on and with increasing amounts of players using long putters to win big tournaments week in week out the debate is set to become hotter and hotter as time goes on.
What are your views on long putters? Does anyone have one in the bag are you one of the purists who believes they are cheating sticks? Let us know what you think?
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They should be banned. If putting is your weakness then practice. Why should bad putters have a simple solution to their problems while players who struggle to hit it straight have to use the same technology as everyone else?
They are no worse than modern drivers with monstrous metal heads that are making some courses obsolete. Maybe golf should be like A1 Grand Prix…give all of the players the same clubs and balls and see who is really the best player!
I’m beyond insensed with these cheating stix, if your putting is poor practice like the rest of us, it’s an appalling flaunt of the rules to keep yippy dinosaurs on TV. Those using them and those allowing them to be used should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. I will not play with anyone who resorts to such pathetic desperation.