Lehman In Long Putter Lash-Out: "What I do know is that the USGA and their testing with the ball...fell asleep at the wheel"

Asked at the Ace Classic by Adam Schupak about the long putter and anchoring...nothing like a good rant!

TOM LEHMAN: My thought is they've picked the wrong thing to fight against and they've done it about 15 years too late. To make an issue about this when they should have made an issue about the balls or clubs 15, 20 years ago is ridiculous. That's my opinion. I think it's just fine.

If there were this method of putting where it was foolproof and you couldn't miss and it just turned this whole game into a joke because it was so simple and so foolproof, I would say, you know what, that's probably worth looking at. The long putter, the belly putter have helped guys who have struggled to keep their careers intact or bring them back from the depths, but it's not a foolproof way.

Q. Did you ever think you would see so many guys on the PGA TOUR, young guys, using it, the belly?

TOM LEHMAN: I hadn't really thought much about it. To me it's a nonissue. It really is. I don't think it's an issue at all. If I were the head of the USGA, I wouldn't even give it a second thought. I wouldn't. That's how strongly I feel about it.

But there are people who feel strongly the other way. I respect that. It's not traditional. Whether or not anchoring a club to your body in some way is breaking a rule, I don't think it is or else it would have been outlawed a long time ago. It's a matter of opinion. What I do know is that the USGA and their testing with the ball and that stuff a long time just completely fell asleep at the wheel and let it get out of control. There you have it.

Q. When you first started using a longer putter, what type of reaction did you get out here?

TOM LEHMAN: No reaction. You know, there was no big deal. I don't mean -- look, I don't know because I don't read the magazines, but I don't believe there's a whole bunch of players out there going crazy and hooting and hollering because some guy's using a belly putter. I don't think. I think it's more made up with maybe the press and the USGA or whoever, but I don't see a lot of players out there picketing, I'm not going to play if the belly putter's allowed this week. I don't see it. Maybe it's there, I just don't know. Maybe you can tell me. Are there a lot of players upset about it? Maybe there are. There aren't, are there?

Q. No, the guys who used the belly putter or long putter on the TOUR last year who won, the best (inaudible) was like 55th.

TOM LEHMAN: That's my whole point right there. This is such a nonissue in my opinion that it's almost comical to be debating.

Comments

[2366967]

Amen!

[BrianS]

What a joke. It doesn't have to be foolproof to be unfair. It if helps one guy do better than another, then it is unfair. Is propping up a ball on a tuft of grass foolproof to knocking it close ? No, but it usually would help.

[T Money]

Lehman's right of course as far as the ball is concerned. The USGA could regulate both, but they won't. I guess they are afraid of being sued. As far as impact on and change of the game--the ball has fundamentally changed the game--Both players and courses--fewer can work it, fewer mishits, 340 yard drives by 5'10" players, Driver- 7 iron on 600 yard par fives, classic courses lengthened, reesified beyond all description. Boring

Banning the long putter is nibbling around the edges. There's a line in Jenkin's The Dogged Victims about putting. "I'd putt sitting up in a coffin if I thought I could make anything" Says it all for me. Long putter, short putter, whatever.

Fix the ball, then fix the putter.

[Matt H]

While I think the ball distance and other issues are getting mentioned here, the focus is the long putter. Everyone complains about others getting an advantage. Pros do this, and I have seen lots of comments on this site the last few weeks. I think these people are worried about getting beaten by a "weaker" player in each case. There is lots of golf equipment out there that isn't for everyone. Are lofted woods and hybrids unfair because they let a weaker player hit quality shots? I haven't seen a person go to the long putter because they are taking advantage of anyone. I don't know anyone using a long putter that is a great putter. I am not that keen on Keegan Bradley or whoever else's case you may make as an example of how the putter turned their game around. It's different, I doubt it is better.

[Pete the Luddite]

I wonder how things would have been120 years ago with respect to the Sanctity Of The Game (c), had blogs and the internet been around. Would we all be tearing our hair out, gnashing our teeth, and rending our clothes over the introduction of The Golf Tee?

I mean, really, the golf tee is an artificial device designed to make it easier to place the ball for striking from the teeing area. That's far more evil than a longer shaft for a putter, right? We've bloody well gone and surrendered use of the good earth itself, upon which we trod with our hand-pulled trollies, to play this sacred game. Now, anyone can just take this completely artificial and always-perfect device to ideally position the ball for the first shot. Heck, you can even alter the depth to which it is placed in the ground, thus clearly placing the ball at the height you want for a particular hole and condition.

Let's restore the Sanctity Of The Game (c). Throw out all those tees. And for those of you with the sustainably-designed brush tees, just get those out of sight before I go into cardiac arrest. Get out those little mounds of sand and let's not lose sight of what this game is all about.

Now, where's my 460 cc driver with the carbon shaft? Oh, I left it with my belly putter.....silly me....

Lehman, I dig your style.

[Pete the Luddite]

My apologies, fellow Shackians. I forgot to start my post with <sarcasm> and end it with </sarcasm>. :)

Happy golf to all.

[benseattle]

Tom Lehman echoes what I've been saying here for months: the "anchored putter" isn't tearing up the game, it isn't seeing professionals make 10-footers with the frequency of four-footers and it isn't rendering the "short putter" obsolete. This is -- for some bizarre reason -- all about AESTHETICS. In others words, much like Bobby Jones running to USGA head Joe Dey years ago when he saw Sam Snead putting "sidesaddle" at his beloved Masters, there are a handful of people who just Don't Like The Way It Looks.

Not one of the protesters, not Tiger Woods, not Ernie Els, not Mike Davis and not Geoff Shackelford can offer conclusive, empirical PROOF that a anchored putter makes the game easier or turns a good putter into a great one. Is is possible that some players might putt a LITTLE better because it FEELS DIFFERENT? Perhaps, but until you can show me that the belly and broom is driving scores into the fifties on Tour and making the average Joe Hackachop into a scratch player overnight, then the USGA is just wasting it's time on a trivial matter that has minimal importance.

And for the record, I putt with a 34-inch blade, Left-Hand-Low. (Oh, wait: that's not a "traditional" method either. You guys coming after ME next?)

[Jay T]

So the "Best" was ranked 55th. What would they have been without the long putter? Lehman says it himself, the long/belly putter has "helped guys who have struggled to keep their careers intact or bring them back from the depths", that in itself says it has allowed guys to put better that could not otherwise have done so with a "normal" putter.

Maybe the guys using the long putter are not leading the stats, but you can bet that if they did not think it helped them, NOT ONE PGA Tour player would use it.

Ban The Long Putters

[d.b.cooper]

Does Lehman still wear that stupid necklace?

Anchoring ain't right. Ban it.

[highside]

Using a tee does not prevent a player from unwanted wrist action. The long putter freezes the wrists, removing a variable that exists during every other shot in golf. Ban it.

[jgw]

these guys are playing for millions. If it really made THAT much of a difference everyone would be doing it. Literally everyone.

[Pete the Luddite]

@benseattle- Dig your comments on what doesn't look right. I got a chuckle thinking of all the comments about the color of Tiger's shoes. :)

@highside- While I was writing in jest, I could prepare a formidable position paper that was anti-tee if I wanted. I was merely trying to make the point that one can see the "evil" in any tool of the game, if one so desired. Personally, I love my brush tee that is reusable and more environmentally friendly than leaving hundreds of pieces of wood in the ground throughout the year. Have a great day. PTL

[Del the Funk]

TOM LEHMAN: This is such a nonissue in my opinion that it's almost comical to be debating.


Strong language. Be interesting to see what kind of blowback he gets. Thump thump.

[RDC]

I'm agnostic on the long putter - it wouldn't bother me if they banned it tomorrow, but I also think it's probably been blown out of proportion. Lehman is entirely correct about the ball, however. If they do something about the long putter, fine, but that's like missing out on a cure for cancer because you were occupied with preventing the sniffles.

[Jay Townsend]

"these guys are playing for millions. If it really made THAT much of a difference everyone would be doing it. Literally everyone." @jgw

@jgw

You need to remember, NOT everyone has a problem they need to use a crutch to try to hide/get over. That is why not everyone is using it. The long/belly putting action can and does cure a fault that some people throughout the history of golf have not been able to cure. There are varying degrees of the YIPS.

Ban the long/belly putters

[Matt H]

To Jay Townsend: if they are afflicted with the yips, they should lose every time as a punishment? Are the yips lack of skill? Does a yipper just need to practice as much as a non-yipper? Does this skill translate throughout the game? I think the yippy putter (putter-er?) may become decent inside 10 feet with the long putter, but not extremely skilled. What is the problem?

[Animal Kingdom]

I'm in favor of banning the long putters, but I think it needs to go farther than that. Long putters would be relatively useless with a traditional (non-center shafted) putter. If center-shafted putters are banned, long putters probably will die off on their own. Center-shafted putters should be banned because they eliminate (or dramatically reduce, anyway) one of the main challenges in golf: the timing of squaring the club at impact. Center-shafted putters are designed so that the face stays square on its own (unless it is manipulated).
That's my two cents.

[Michael]

"I don't think it is or else it would have been outlawed a long time ago."
What a crazy statement.

Well said Jay.

[Michael]

"I don't think it is or else it would have been outlawed a long time ago."
What a crazy statement.

Well said Jay.

[elf]

If a player has the driver yips, can they use a v-harness to help them? It may not turn them into a great driver, but it means they can still compete. I can't swing the bat as fast as you, can I put cork (although there isn't a ton of evidence cork helps) in my bat? If the fundamental point of golf is controlling the golf swing, especially with nerves, anchoring is a crutch that shouldn't be allowed at the highest level.

Something should probably be one about the golf ball too, they aren't mutually exclusive.

[wide right]

Either the belly putter confers a mechanical advantage to the OVERALL skill of putting or it does not. If it confers a mechanical overall advantage to otherwise poor putters it also confers a mechanical overall advantage to otherwise good putters. Some may say that the reason all the pros don't use one is is because not everyone "needs" one. Nonsense. If it conferred a innate mechanical advantage and saved a touring pro even one stroke every tournament, then they all would use it. The reason they don't all use it is because it does not confer an advantage OVERALL. It may make the short putts easier but it makes the medium and longer range putts harder. Overall the effect on putting is somewhere between negligible and negative because there is more to putting than short putts. I personally don't like the long putters. I also personally don't like the putters that look like a toaster on a stick or putter heads with wings. Should they be banned just because they don't fit my eye?

[Mike Clayton]

If you think the short putter is an important part of the game you need to protect it from the belly putter - not the long putter.
If you don't think it is important do nothing - just like they did nothing with the ball and the big headed drivers.
They - the powers - will all now privately admit they should have taken a stand.

[Mike Clayton]

If you think the short putter is an important part of the game you need to protect it from the belly putter - not the long putter.
If you don't think it is important do nothing - just like they did nothing with the ball and the big headed drivers.
They - the powers - will all now privately admit they should have taken a stand.

[stymie]

Pete the Luddite: Thanks for an ironic post on a site populated by literalists.

[Del the Funk]

I'm going back to the 35" Pro Platinum Catalina 2 tomorrow. Longest made today was a 4-footer, otherwise 16 two-putts and a gimme. Pitiful. 8 years now on and off w/ the 48" incher...other than bringing a "change of pace", I don't really see any sort of material advantage. I expect that my experience is the same as the pool boy (Rocco).

[kenoneputt]

@ Mike Clayton "If you think the short putter is an important part of the game you need to protect it from the belly putter - not the long putter."

Mike, I love your approach to the game, and what you've done in golf course design but...

I gave you guys almost two hours of my time listening to State of the Game this week, and all I found out was three guys who've never even tried a belly putter believe it's about replace the short putter.

That's the silliest thing I have ever heard. The belly putter was first developed more than 40 years ago, and the long putter is about 30 years old. They both pre-date the introduction of oversized drivers and three-piece balls. Yet oversized drivers and three-piece balls have dominated the game for more than 10 years.

While belly and long putters are still hardly a blip on the radar.

K

[Doug Benner]

Do belly putters really give an unfair advantage overall, or is the perceived advantage at short range counterbalanced by the fact that lag putting is more difficult? I'm a traditionalist, so personally I don't care for any of the long putters, but has the issue of competitive advantage actually ever been studied scientifically?

[Mike Clayton]

kenoneputt

I used the long putter for 6 months in 1993 and I have spoken to Dale Lynch at length about the belly putter.
He taught Baddeley to putt and knows a whole lot more about putting mechanics than me. He has also worked with Geoff Ogilvy since he was 15 and is one of the best teachers in the game.

His view is that if you want to lead with the grip in the fashion of Dave Stockton the belly putter is no good - but otherwise it is a better and easier way to putt - and 'very soon they will be selling kids sets with belly putters'

I am interested in the assertion that the belly was developed 40 years ago. Maybe, but who used it? It has only come to prominence in the last couple of seasons. Things take off when there is high profile success with them and that has happened in the last year.

For me it is no where near as critical as the ball issue but if we care about the short putter it needs defending.
I am so tired of hearing the 'it's too late now' argument from those who have the power and the responsibility of running and regulating the game.

[bonnie banks]

I remember in the 70s being told that no self-respecting good player would ever use a tin wood, game improver irons or a solid ball-and look what happened there!!
Conventional putters find the belly putter etc hard to use because you have to 're-learn' the stroke and generally they can't be bothered-that is one of the main reasons that so far only yippers have had the motivation/dedication to use them.
In the future kids are going to be taught to use them from the word go so they will become a significant issue-so in 20 years time I hope we're not all saying we should have banned them-why did nobody act sooner!
And I would look at the ball too!

[Erik J. Barzeski]

Why should we worry about protecting or extending the careers of yippers?

[Ky Laffoon's Ghost]

Erik, you ask an inconvenient question. Again.

[ChampagneTonyLives]

@Mike C. -

I agree with you, and I would add that things (in golf equipment, at least) seem to really take off once data (from robot/computer/flight monitor) is available to prove that it's easier, or more effective, or you can get extra X amount of yards, etc.

What I mean is: before flight monitors and clubpath tracking devices (anybody checkout swingshot yet? looks cool, lol) wasn't it more assumed that improvements brought on by equipment changes were "player specific"? Hogan wasn't going to change to a bigger driver just because Middlecoff was playing one, for instance.

However, once it's proven by data that you will gain X yards by using this shaft/head combo, or you will start your ball on the true line with X% of sweet forward spin by gaming a specific putter style - players seem to start to use it. We can only see a certain amount of players that are able to incorporate it into their current (pro-level) game, but

Coaches (some) will read the "materials" that come out and just continue to try to get their students as close to (newly discovered) "optimal" swingpath/style as possible. "This putting style rolls the ball the best - this is the one you should practice."

Is that bad? I'm too new to the game to know, lol. It's just something I've noticed. I do believe something needs to be done about the ball/clubs though - the number of players that can rip full speed at drivers off the tee and keep it on the planet has gone whacko. Maybe just take the tee away? No cavity backs for pros? :)

[GolfFan]

What the hell, waking up late is better than never waking up at all

[Kevin]

I'm a flip-flopper on the putter issue. But the ball, that is the single biggest thing that has led to so many courses becoming extinct for the Tour pros only. I found a GOLFWEEK from 1995 recently(dont ask) and was astounded by the difference in driving distance. Number 1 in distance? Dennis Paulson-282.8. That is considered on the low end today. #10 was Woody Austin at 272.2. That would almost keep you off the Tour today. It's the BALL.......Sidenote, #1 ranked AM: Tiger Woods, Cypress, CA

[digsouth]

Mr. Lehman; your opinion is as valued as the captainship that someone bought you a few years ago.

[Fester]

Tom Lehman gives his honest opinion on a topic and it's a 'rant'. A blogger devotes column after column to a topic and it's 'reportage'.

Remember, just because somebody doesn't agree with you doesn't automatically make them wrong.