Sports

Dropping anchor a blow to local, amateur ranks

Mark McCormick is the head golf pro at Suburban Golf Club in Union, N.J. He played in the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic Club. As told to Mark Cannizzaro.

WHEN I heard the news of the USGA’s anchor-putter ban, my feelings mirrored those of the PGA, which is disappointed.

The move is a blow to golf as a whole, but particularly those who are not at the pro level.

The USGA makes up the rules and we have to follow them, so in 2016 if you’re putting with the long anchored putter you’re breaking the rules.

Once this rule is in effect in 2016, even at the local club and amateur level of the game, anchoring the putter will be illegal. So for those who still might choose to use this method, it will be the same as breaking the rules by improving a lie in the rough.

“We have to make sure our members know that if this rule is implemented, they know what to do as far as a local rule and the rule for competition,” PGA of America president Ted Bishop said. “There is a lot of confusion out there. Some think there is a provision for a local rule to allow anchoring. If we follow the rules of the USGA and the [British] R&A, we can’t allow that to happen.”

We’re trying to get more golfers to come out and play the game, and we’re trying to keep the ones we already have. We don’t want to give anyone a reason to not play. The game is hard enough as it is.

Some people really struggle with putting. The long, belly-anchored putter makes it more manageable for those people. The people who rely on those anchor putters might decide, “Hey, if I can’t putt with this I’m not going to play.”

We’re desperately trying to keep golfers in the game and bring more golfers in. I’m afraid that this ruling might have an adverse effect on new people coming to the game and keeping those people who are in it.

This ruling sure looks like it is geared toward the pros — targeting those who use it on the PGA Tour. That seems unfair to the amateur golfers who use those putters.

Unfortunately, it’s going to be difficult for the amateurs to switch back to the regular-length putter. I know guys who have the yips with regular putters, and the anchored putter helps them. It soothes them and makes their experience putting a little less stressed. The result is they enjoy the game more.

Those are the people I worry about — those who had the yips and can’t putt with the regular putter. I don’t know where those people are going to go.