Keegan To Take Some Sort Of Stand Against Anchoring Ban
I'm not sure from these comments if this means he's going to write a juicy letter, picket outside Golf House, start a Facebook page, give USGA walking officials that creepy glazed-eye look he gets before hitting a putt, or, file a big lawsuit. But it seems Keegan Bradley is going to take a stand against the inevitable USGA/R&A ban on anchoring putters against the torso.
He's talking exclusively to Alex Miceli in Dongguan, China:
“I'm going to do whatever I have to do to protect myself and the other players on Tour,” Bradley said. “I look at it as a whole, as us all together. I don't look at it as much about myself. I think that for them to ban this after we've done what we've done is unbelievable.”
Geoff
**Miceli suggested Bradley means legal action during a Morning Drive appearance. He also used the word "legal" in his story lede, but Bradley is not quoted saying anything about a lawsuit.
Reader Comments (73)
Long putters are not to blame for the issues in the game today, it is length that is the issue. This has increased the cost for the average golfer as well as golf course owners and investors.
The R&A and USGA are going for the soft target rather than the right target.
You are correct in that it is not "the" issue in the game today.
But it is one of the many issues that needs to be corrected.
The R&A and USGA have let many facets of the game get out of hand.
That they are aiming for any target is a start.
"may the lie be with you"
Which he has more often than not. Evil.
~I'm~ gonna~ sue~ na na na na na na na~ Pulleazze.
Putt like a man, you wimp. Get over your old man crutch.
BTW, can anyone else picture the Bradley-Mickelson pow-wow or advice sessions that may have taken place with regards to this issue. Keegan's quotes sound like pure Mick-elese to me.
im sure the usga counsel is taking into consideration the lawsuits from mfgs, but players?
A crucial tee shot, with persimmon and a Tour Balata used to take just as much nerve as any 3 footer.
Or hybrids?! Take a look at "War by the Shore" , half of those poor shots (hello Calc) are nearly not possible with current equipment.
It's the wrong battle, easier to win because of the minority use, but still the wrong fight to pick. IMO
At the same time, the biggest issue with the pro game is clearly distance and there is a great deal of smoke and mirrors here. The USGA is effectively impacting the career of a (growing) handful of TOUR players who use the long putter, instead of doing something about the golf ball or the driver heads that would impact the entire field.
Putting is a crucial aspect of the pro game and it is likely that guys like Keegan, Webb, Carl, Tim Clark, etc. will fall off the map if they have to go back to a standard putter.
I do not think the long putter should ever have been allowed, at least on the PGA TOUR, but seriously, start with the big issues with statistical evidence (distance and courses getting ruined to combat it) and then move to smaller issues like this.
And he can get rid of his back and fro preshot routine too.
Start your own tour if you don't like it- you can call it the Tourettes Tour.
Nobody is forcing Keegan to play golf for a living.
I'm also with Phyllis - bring back balata
I don't think anyone here is unwilling to discuss the big head/ball longer drive/need (or not) for longer course issue- BUT NOT HERE. It just wastes paper! (little joke there)
A thread or a thousand threads on this, and the USGA's having missed the need to regulate in some form this issue can born out, and will. But doggone it, it really gets old when the ''long ball'' issue (and even the damn stripe on the golf ball nuts) keep breaking the train of thought of the ''anchor'' situation.
It matters not that there is creedence to the need to discuss all this other stuff, but pointing out the USGA's ''whimp out of rules-o-mania'' is a given. Let us just get these issues going all at once, but at seperate times/places....you know what I'm talkin' 'bout.
There has been a massive problem with the Rules farting around on blades of grass, while balls, clubs, strokes and tokes(for rhyme value) have jr ust been left to their own fortunes.
Come on yall. End of sugar induced rant (I had to test the Halloween candy)
It seems to me that Rule 14.3 and the "unusual use of equipment" is pretty clear, well beyond a reasoning based on "because I say so." Maybe you can now say that because more than a few use a long putter it is no longer "unusual" but it seems beyond debate that there is ample justification in the Rules for a ban based on "unusual use" of club. And I'm not sure that there are "more than a few" who are using the putter in this way. The fact that there is so much discussion about it is evidence that the use remains "unusual."
And when one says that a rule (to include "sports rules") are arbitrary by nature and "to admit to it" reminds me of that the definition of an "arbitrary decision" is a decision that you disagree with. But I do not believe the Rules of Golf are arbitrary. They have held up pretty well for a few centuries until the ball got so far out of hand.
just my opinion -
jb
You don't have to separate them, but if you want to arrive at some conclusion(s), then they each need to be discussed separately.
You don't have to separate them, but if you want to arrive at some conclusion(s), then they each need to be discussed separately.
Spot on Phyllis, put another way the argument against is "I just don't like it".
Jim, clearly that rule does not apply,nor it would have already been applied. Right?
Hawk, in the mid-90s Mike Hulbert devised a putting method that completely eliminated the chances of the left wrist breaking down...
,,,he putted with one hand, the right hand. It was unconventional, very effective, looked odd, and completely eliminated the risk of the left wrist breaking down. If a couple guys up and won majors putting that way would the method be subject to a ban?
nytimes (dot) com/1995/05/20/sports/golf-with-one-hand-hulbert-climbs-to-lead (dot) html
...RLL, that may be the most cynical post I've ever read on this site, and that's saying something!
Bradley is indeed creepy. He is just the sort of guy to whine about the ban. It is all about what is best for him, not golf.
He made a freaking fool of himself at Medinah with his WAY over the top behavior. I reckon he is going to make a fool of himself over this issue instead of accepting things and making himself a good putter the right way.
Anchoring is not how a shot was meant to be played so I support a ban-although I fully accept that there are bigger issues that should be faced
Much more interestingly: can anyone explain on what legal basis Bradley, Clark and others are hoping to sue? Surely the governing bodies can do as they please in setting out the rules of the game? What "rights" do those players see being breached?
yes but the rules were superseped in the Casey Martin case by the ADA. This will not be an issue in this case unless Bradley can argue he needs his putter as a crutch while standing on the green.
Without this it is just a rules issue and no court will ever rule on this because they are not the authority to do so
Jim - arbitrary to me means not based in reason but simply on a whim, or personal taste. And golf rules are arbitrary (and that's okay). Why can we use 14 clubs instead of 10, 15, or 20? As far as just "not looking like golf", I would say that outside of 20 feet, the belly putter looks much more conventional than that thing Dimarco has always done with his putter. Not to be contradictory, but I do understand the view that if the rules say that a free stroke can only be accomplished without anchoring, then write it that way end of story but don't hide behind all these garbage excuses like it's a crutch, or an unfair advantage. It's not unfair, it's available to all. Not to harp on the ball again, but who benefits more from the new ball, answer: long hitters. Dustin Johnson benefits more than Corey Pavin, is that fair?
I think e9golf comment is correct, advancements happen. I suppose in response to digsouth I would say the timing is curious at best. Why now? Because 3 guys won majors with them? But in Vegas ~2000 when the ProV came out....silence. And now 6750yds is useless but still silence...I know chicks dig the long ball....I suppose, just my opinion, that if the equipment gets approved in development, etc. it should be end of story.
RLL-My original comment had more to do with the derision being heaped on current long putter users. And I don't understand what's so offensive about Keegan Bradley. He used to spit, he's made an effort to stop. He's fidgety, big deal, ever see Hubert Green? It would be hard to descibe Adam Scott as grotesque in any way. Of course these guys would rather stick to what they know, they play for huge, life changing $$$$.
Banning the long putter will stop many people who currently enjoy the game from playing in the future.
As I said earlier, the R&A and USGA are attacking the wrong targets. The 460CC drivers and new balls have affected the game far more than long putters, and not in a good way.