Give me a break! What's next? Unlimited number of clubs in the bag? Preferred lies in the rough? Mulligans?
I have always been an opponent to the use of long putters. It is a blatant breach of the spirit of the game, and the rules should reflrect this. And I don't care what the rules say, using a putter that allows the golfer to anchor part of the club to the torso or chin to use the body as an artificial fulcrum is tantamount to cheating and nobody could convince me otherwise. I have genuine empathy for all the pro's out there who can't putt or get the yips, but the simple fact is putting is an important part of the game and if you can't do it you aren't good enough to be out on tour. I didn't get to watch the US Amatuer here in Australia, but it is a sad day when such a prestigious and traditionalist event like that is won with a long putter. What will happen when one of golf's majors is won with a long putter. This years Open championship came within a lipout on 18 of being won with a belly putter, which would have been the saddest day in the history of this great game. Long putters should be banned immediately and all players who have used them should be removed from the records.

Posted by purist August 29, 2007 4:11 PM

You guys cannot possibly be serious. One of you is actually claiming that the greatest taint on this game is the use of a putter longer than X amount of inches? Seriously?

1. Racism taints the game; there are still private clubs where blacks and Jews are categorically not welcome.

2. Sexism taints the game; same goes for the places that refuse women as members.

3. Money taints the game; how many children wanting to play have been stopped cold by the outrageous expense that is involved in getting out onto a course?

4. Exclusivity taints the game; how many people regularly insist that there is only one way to play the game, and anybody attempting to walk down new roads should be shunned if not exiled?

The fact that you believe that a putter is the greatest affront to the game of golf means one of two things. Either you're woefully ignorant of the very serious problems facing our great game, or you don't care to see those very serious problems. Either way, it is a shame that you have a platform to espouse such nonsense while writers who pay far more attention to the realities on the ground go without.

GOUGE: I'll notify the Nobel committee that you're working on these problems. IN the meantime, perhaps you should recognize that this is a space for comment about equipment issues. But the UN is calling. They want their charter back.

Posted by samwilkinson August 29, 2007 8:47 PM

Are you kidding me? People have nothing more to whine about then a person using a belly putter. If it really was easier, then everyone would use it. Don't kid yourself. Can't stand cry babies who cry over every little thing. I personally don't use one but I can care less if someone does. That is like saying Tiger Woods should not be able to compete on tour because he has an unfair advantage as far as athletic ability and swing speed goes. He hits the ball farther. Don't kid yourself by saying it's not. That is like telling tiger he should have to tee off with a 5-wood instead. Everyone else can tee off with there 460cc drivers though. Just to even the playing field. I expect people to do what helps their games. Just cause you cannot use one don't cry because he knows how to.

GOUGE: Provided someone was able to stumble through your logic, the fact is you're wrong. It's not the same as restricting Tiger Woods or any long hitter to a 5-wood off the tee. Hitting it farther is a skill required for the game. Bracing a golf club against your gut, chest or chin is not.

Posted by toledobill August 29, 2007 11:35 PM

to comment on samwilkins. I dont feel as you may feel about racism in golf. While it may play a part in some clubs. I think the issue far more ways on having and not having money. The prestigous clubs where I am from you are not going to get into if you dont have big dollars. While sure race does play a part in every sport it is more then a one way road.... I do feel however that lower income are discriminated against more then any particular race. While grant it many lower income are minorities not all are... I am a white mail and have been turned down for any club I try to join and have been told I will never get into any prestigous club because i do not meet there social standards. Not financial but social.

Posted by toledobill August 29, 2007 11:42 PM

I knew it was a matter of time before all that pent up angst was released by Gouge. His remarkable temperance and even acceptance of the modern equipment revolution always struck me as out of character from a man who seems more given to self-immolation than self-healing through technology...Funny that the putters pushed him over the edge.

Anyway, most people agree that long putters aren't golf-like, but my understanding is that they simply can't find a way to write a fair, enforcable rule banning them.

Also, I doubt he guys and girls who putt this way do it out of fear. They probably think they just putt better that way.

Gouge, you might want to get fitted for a bite block, so you don't grind your teeth down unnecessarily.

GOUGE: I don't have a problem with people choosing a piece of equipment that they think makes them a better player. I have a problem with people choosing to do something that all people with sound minds clearly recognize as disgusting, if not cheating. Like steroids and Human Growth Hormone, for instance.

Posted by 86general August 30, 2007 9:08 AM

I have just started using a belly putter this year. As long as it is legal I intend to use it and I feel absolutely no guilt or remorse. It makes me a better putter, but you still have to read the putts and judge the distance. It definitely makes the straight putts shorter then 10 feet easier (almost automatic). I was never a great putter even though I have a 1 handicap, and I still am not a great putter, just a little better. I believe long putts are a little easier to lag close with the long putter. There is definately some practice and experimentation with different lengths required to find the magic stick and the best technique. I wish there was some better instruction available for the belly putter.

Posted by alanparkcity August 30, 2007 7:06 PM

Hyperbole aside, the long putter is the latest example of the fact that we need two sets of rules. Granted I don't want to take the enjoyment out of the game for the 4-some of seniors at my club that play every day and have a bowl of soup.

However, no one should win an event run by any of the governing bodies...after that committees would be free to make a local rule for their own competition.

The bottom line is golf was built on tradition, good and bad. I'm all in for golf sandals and hybrids but the long putter is an affront to high competition and should be stopped before anything else important is won with it.

GOUGE: A fair solution to all would be to handle it by allow ing the governing bodies and all significant events to prohibit the use of these, for lack of a better phrase, putting poles. After about a decade, they'd simply become extinct. Like what will happen to super sharp grooves.

Posted by fourjack September 1, 2007 6:56 AM

OK, let's get this right. We have to hit the ball in the fairway off the tee, then hit the ball on the green. In doing so we must avoid, water rough, trees and sand traps. We must judge wind, rain, blinding sun, and our partners making noise to distract us. Once on the green we must judge speed, break, bumps, spike marks, and grain. All the while, if the putt matters at all, calming our nerves. with all this said, do you honestly believe the person with a belly or long putter, feels any more confident in the putt going in the hole? The trick to this game we love is to get the ball in the hole while we all follow the same rules. The putter is right and good for those who choose to use it. We all have the choice to use it or not, but don't banish those who choose to use it!!! For the love of Old Tom!!!

GOUGE: I'm not banishing them. They're welcome to play. Just use something other than an Alpenhorn to putt with.

Posted by GOLFGEEK September 1, 2007 7:11 AM

In other words FourJack, you're comfortable with rulings that allow you access to whatever it is that YOU are comfortable with. But as soon as you're not comfortable, you turn to the USGA, demand intervention and insist that somebody make it stop.

I tolerate hybrids on the course, so I think you can manage tolerating long putters.

GOUGE: Hybrids do not bastardize the rules by affixing the handle of the club to a body part other than your hands. This is not a matter of style.

Posted by samwilkinson September 1, 2007 9:36 AM

I think the rules ought to be changed to prohibit allowing a club to contact any part of the body other than the hands while playing a stroke. No anchoring to the belly or chest.

Also, if the USGA and R&A are fine with limiting the club length on drivers, then why not putters as well?

Posted by BobbyJohn September 1, 2007 12:08 PM

I¿ve yet to see a really good putter that uses a belly putter. Some people just can¿t put at all with a standard putter, and some seem to improve with the belly, but never have I seen anyone put as well with a belly putter as someone that is good with the normal one. I don¿t get what all the fuss is about.

GOUGE: If they can't putt competently with a normal putter, then they should be relegated to a place more deserving of their skills. Like asking whether I want fries with my Big Mac.

Posted by keyser September 3, 2007 6:29 AM

I didn't want to but I had to register just to post a comment on this!

The putter argument must be the stupidest thing I've ever seen from the golf hierarchy here.

How about Tiger using the retail Nike golf clubs instead of the special ones that are made especially for him and nobody else.

Or hows about he uses the same ball as the rest of us instead of the superball that he get and nobody else.

Or finally how about he doesn't go around with a caddy who tells him just how to hit 85% of his shots including how and where to aim his putt.

This is a ridiculous and flawed argument and you cannot be serious. I'm not picking on Tiger solely here, every pro gets these "special" powers so why pick on a putter and not all the other b.s. that the rest of us have to put up with.

Where is the outrage?! Indeed!!!!!!!

The outrage is with your limited comment to a small aspect of the game!

Posted by Yort September 3, 2007 8:15 AM

belly putters add diversity to the game. so what if a belly putter helps someone. thats like saying you cant use any training aids. people need different equipment to perform well at what they do.

GOUGE: I perform much better when my tee shot finishes two yards from the cup on every hole. I propose that I should be allowed to start every hole within six feet of the pin, lying 1. That would add diversity to the game, too. And it would be about as idiotic as a broomstick putter.

Posted by dougie September 4, 2007 7:34 AM

For those of you that think that a long putter is not some form of a crutch, you have no idea what you are talking about. A practical example would be sawing the butt off of a rifle and entering a shooting competition. Anchoring the putter or a rifle to your body in some way eliminates or reduces the amount of fine motor skills needed to be accurate.
These are the skills that make these people elite athletes. Maybe we should go bowling without the gutters, enter a bicycle race on motorcycle, or climb a mountain with a winch. Start telling your kids that cheating in school is ok if no one takes the time to notice. Strive to be average!!

Posted by TJKrupnick September 4, 2007 11:47 AM

Damnit, I had written a really long and thorough explanation clearing this all up but I accidentally lost it all so here's a shortened version.

1)Long putters remove an element of skill from the game. The game is based on skill, putting a gulley around your ball and the hole would obviously take away skill and be against the spirit of the game so why isn't anchoring the end of the putter?

2)The two worlds of golf; elite competition and social/recreational play are entirely different. Those playing for fun should be completely at their leisure to use whatever putter makes them enjoy their round more. However pros, elite amateurs and anyone in any sort of at least semi-serious competition are taking part in contests designed to test who has the most skill at golf, and that includes putting, so using putters that take some skill away from putting reduces the fidelity of the test and hence they should be banned.

This is not remotely the same as not letting Tiger use a driver. Tiger is better than everyone else because he is more able, he has better skills. This distinction is exactly what competitions test for and using artificial rules to remove it would be to make the whole thing pointless apart from as a spectacle. Pros having better equipment than club players is also irrelevant as the two are not being compared, if yont were to go on tour to compare himself to the best he would find himself with all of the same equipment.

3)In response to samwilkinson:

Racism : It's wrong, everyone knows it's wrong. BUT, that's nothing to do with golf as a game, it doesn't say in the rule book that "blacks and jews" shouldn't be allowed to play. It has to do, instead, with the clubs who practise the racism, and with the ruling bodies of golf who allow them to. ALSO this is completely irrelevant to the discussion about putters, it may be more important but that doesn't mean it's the only thing we're allowed to think about.

Sexism : Most people think that all clubs should accept female members. However women frequently have girls nights etc, where men aren't welcome, there's women only car insurers, female only gyms etc, so why not male only golf clubs. There's a brilliant article on golf digest that I stole that logic from, it's about the whole Augusta debate. Again, irrelevant to this discussion and relating not in the slightest to the actual game of golf

Money: a lack of money restricts in all walks of life, it's unfortunate but it's true. Combine this with the fact that golf, due to it's requirement for lots of equipment and the use of large areas of highly maintained land, is a particularly expensive past time. There's not a lot that can be done about this, although I believe that golf is becoming more and more accessible. Again, irrelevant to this discussion

Exclusivity: Don't really know what you're saying here. If you mean etiquette and having to dress smartly etc then i'm sure you can find a course near you where you'll get away with jeans and a t-shirt, but the status quo is the way it is because that's how most people who play golf want it to be. I realise you may have meant something entirely different but it certainly would have been irrelevant to the page. (Not that I have anything against you speaking out against racism etc, you're just doing it in the wrong place, and should realise that discussion of other subjects is still valid.

4)Gouge; I am somewhat disappointed that someone employed to comment on such issues chooses to do so (or even worse, can only do so) by being incredibly and, to be honest, hilariously one-sided. I happen to agree with you that long putters shouldn't be used in competition, but to call players such as Sergio Garcia and Retief Goosen "undeserving give-up artists" "compensating for glaring incompetence" is ridiculous and risible in the extreme. I would hazard to suggest that they both can putt better (using a regular putter) than you can (I do acknowledge that this is not proven, it is merely a suspicion). They are also both perfectly capable of using short putters effectively and have had considerable success doing so in the past (I mean, for goodness sake Goosen won a couple of U.S. Opens doing so) and are merely doing their best to maximise their performance in a legal way. Hilariously you call them give-up artists for doing this. It is quite simply naive to expect high level athletes in a sport where fractions mean everything not to do whatever they deem necessary to legally improve. Finally, I realise that Bomb & Gouge are supposed to represent the two sides of topic, and that making jokes and strong statements makes the piece more interesting, but surely you can do it in a way that doesn't sacrifice the fidelity of the discussion and insult both your intelligence (hopefully) and htat of the readers.

Posted by martinspurin September 4, 2007 3:59 PM

How about killing off cavity back irons and 460cc drivers as well and making everyone use blades and persimmon, in particular the pros. . The same logic applies to these clubs as well, which makes your arguement pointless. Remember the game is for all of us not just the very talented few who are on the tours.

Posted by shortsocks September 4, 2007 4:30 PM

In response to Sam Wilkinson:
You are trying to politicise what is a non political debate. No one would argue that racism, sexism, capitalism etc etc are more important issues than any sport or game, but please stick to the topic. There is no doubt that professionals or amatuers who win big events with long putters taint the spirit and tradition of the game.
And to all those who compare long putters with other technology advancements, new technology does not change the basic physical fundamentals of the golf swing. Sure, it might improve results for the same amount of talent, and debate rages over the pros being allowed to use technology like they have, but the bottom line is that the ability to swing a golf club using the hands as the only point of contact with the club is still important. Allowing a player to use equipment that takes away the fundamental principles of what constitutes a golf swing is wrong.

Posted by purist September 4, 2007 5:56 PM

Yort's argument is fundamentally flawed on many key issues.
1. Tiger is one golfer who is known for not taking advantage of technology. He still uses forged blades, does not have a hybrid in his bag, and was one of the last players to go to the super sized drivers with extra long shafts. I'm sure as hell he won't be going to the long putter any time soon either. If you want to argue this point get a better example. Tiger actually refutes your argument and shows that talent makes him the best in the world, not technology.
2. The only reason nobody else uses Tiger's 'super ball' is because nobody else is able to use it. Other Nike pro's would have access to it, but they don't have Tiger's swing specs and wouldn't be able to take advantage of it. With launch monitors and so forth these days any pro can get a ball that is matched to their specs. Tigers specs just happen to be different to everybody elses.
3. As has been pointed out to you, just because Tiger can hit the ball longer than most other people on the panet, doesn't mean he is getting an UNFAIR advantage. And in case you didn't, he won the 2006 Open using 2 iron off the tee and having longer approaches than his partners.

Posted by purist September 5, 2007 4:13 PM

Mr. Stachura, I must say I found the piece very amusing, and your responses to the comments even more so, until you made the comparison between the long putter and human growth hormone. As a former journalist who has seen the sport of professional cycling try to tear itself apart from one drug scandal after another, I can tell you that the long putter is NOT the equivalent of HGH or steroids. It's the equivalent of a better golf glove, a lighter bicycle frame, a springier frame on a tennis racket. You chastised a reader earlier for bringing topics such as racism and sexism into the debate on an equipment blog. I might respectfully request that you do the same. I can assure you that if/when a pro golfer gets caught with performance-enhancing drugs in a routine traffic stop, that incident is going to be blasted all over the headlines and talk shows the very next day. Which is more than I can say about the long putter. Nobody outside the world of golf cares about the equipment (and I, for one, don't have a lot of feelings one way or another). But let one pro golfer get caught with HGH, and all of a sudden, the tour's sparkling reputation will be on a downslide. It's a real concern, and Gary Player should be commended for bringing it to the fore.

Posted by PaulLundgren September 6, 2007 6:30 AM

You say...."Ban any putter longer than 38 inches and do it now." What about a short player or a kid who is capable of anchoring a 38" putter to their belly? Or what if one anchors it to their hip? It's extremely difficult to write a rule on this matter. If you say the club can only touch the hands, what if a driver touches your shoulder on the follow through? Or if it inadvertantly grazes your hip on your downswing. It's really a tougher rule change than one might think. I use a belly putter now because I got the yips about 10 years ago. It stopped the yips but I do not consider myself to be a very good putter. I'm not convinced that it should be outlawed because it gives an unfair advantage. Like a earlier blog noted, it's rare to see a really good putter using a long putter. It may stop the yips but I don't think it really improves ones stroke. Just my humble opinion.

Posted by augusta98 September 11, 2007 11:54 AM