Belly-putting golfers find ruling tough to stomach
There was a knock at my front door one day last spring, and there she was, propped coyly against a column.
Forty-two inches long and wearing a skimpy black, gold and white number, the name “Tiffany” was stamped on her head.
I didn’t bother to ask my mail-order beauty about her weird tattoo. From the first time I gently swayed her to and fro, her sweet steady head rolling in putt after putt, I knew I’d never find another putter like Tiffany.
Even when other golfers insulted her, calling her “Too Tall Tiff,” I didn’t care. As the putts kept dropping, I decided nothing would ever come between us.
That is, until just more than three weeks ago when the U.S. Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient Club in Scotland announced that belly putters anchored against any part of the body would be officially declared illegal Jan. 1, 2016. Tour pros expect the PGA Tour to follow the ruling; a decision is expected in June when the tour board meets.
At first, I was heartbroken. I found Tiff because I’m 6-5, 56 years old and if I bend down too far to putt there’s a chance I may be stuck in that position for the rest of the round. I grip her like a regular putter and I never anchor her to my stomach or chest. My heart beats fast enough when I hold her too close.
Imagine my relief Friday at the FedEx St. Jude Classic when I asked defending FedEx Cup champ Brandt Snedeker about the USGA/R&A ruling in relation to my grip.
“As long as you’re swinging free and it’s not anchored, you’re legal,” he said.
Yes! My golf game needs all the help it can get. But what about the pros who make a living using belly putters, some guys who jump-started dormant careers by switching to the longer putters?
“I’ve been using my belly putter for about 15 years, so I’m a little worried about the transition,” said Tim Clark, a 37-year-old South African with 11 pro wins, who also missed Friday’s two-round cut after shooting a 9-over 79. “Everyone has used them for so long, I never thought it was going to be an issue. It became an issue when a lot of guys started using them.”
The belly putter began hitting the PGA Tour in force in 1999 after Paul Azinger read a book by putting guru Dave Pelz. Pelz said that good putters always keep the end of the shaft pointed at their belly but- ton throughout the stroke.
Azinger found a longer putter in a pro shop one day, anchored it against his belly and started dropping putt after putt. He took the new style to the tour.
Although four of the last six majors have been won by golfers using anchored putting strokes, there are no tangible statistics that prove belly putters provide an advantage.
But golf traditionalists, the same ones who use drivers with Fred Flintstone-sized club heads, moan about the XXXXL putters.
“It’s a tough argument to say it’s against the traditions of the game,” said 2012 Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III, “when I’m playing with a white driver, a white 3-wood and graphite shafts.
“I do agree that the majority of the golfing world, which is not the PGA Tour, does not want the belly putter. If you took a vote of everybody that plays golf in an election to keep it or get rid it of it, it would be 70-30 to get rid of it.”
In the meantime, though, the belly putter will provide debate and interesting observations, like the one made by Memphian Lorri Cordelli after she watched 14-year-old Chinese phenom Guan Tianlang miss a TPC Southwind practice green putt using a belly putter.
“Guess he got unnaveled,” she said with a straight face.