"So, yes, I would make the long putter illegal."

Steve DiMeglio chats with Dave Stockton about his new putting book and perhaps more interesting than repeating his thoughts on the long putter, was one ray of hope we haters of the anchoring craze can cling to:

Anchoring takes some skill and nerves out of putting. I go back to Sam Snead. They outlawed his croquet putting because he straddled the line. Well, what difference does that make? When long putters came out, they were being used by players generally who weren't good putters to start with. The long putters let them hang in there. Now you have a generation of players who started using the long putters at a young age. Now, saying that, I would never start a kid with a long putter when I could see if he or she could perform with a short putter. I just think the short putter is much better on long putts and it's much better in the wind. So, yes, I would make the long putter illegal.

"I’m beginning to wonder if we’ve actually over-developed junior sports in this country."

Sally Jenkins pens a must-read column (thanks reader John) on the state of American golf and tennis player development and opens with a nice play on one of her old man's great lines: "There’s nothing wrong with American tennis and golf that a double-dip recession can’t cure."

This, I've heard from a few college golf coaches and credit Stanford's Conrad Ray for having the guts to say what so many other would like to say:

When I asked Stanford University golf Coach Conrad Ray why international players are winning majors while young Americans are not, he suggested I check out the Web site for the Sage Valley Invitational. It’s the most prominent tournament for juniors in America, and it’s a lovely event — maybe too lovely. It’s held on a beautifully groomed course designed by Tom Fazio.

This year’s field of 54, who ranged in age from 14 to 18 and included 15 foreigners, got personalized lockers in the clubhouse, and top caddies to carry clubs and tend their pins. The sponsor Electrolux paid for all of their travel and expenses, and they were showcased by CBS in a taped hour-long broadcast. The winner’s trophy and blazer were presented by PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem.

Basically, they were treated like they had already arrived.

“It’s amazing to see how much they are given, and what the experience is at a young age,” Ray says. “If you go down that road, that’s what you start to expect, and want.”

And the home run point by Jenkins, which would seem to support the cause of those who believe initiatives like The First Tee are far less helpful in young people's lives than better access to actual golf courses and self-taught talent:

Think about it. The golden age of American tennis in the 1970s was dominated by self-styled champions who learned to play in town parks: Arthur Ashe, son of a public park policeman; Billie Jean King, fireman’s daughter and a public park champion; Chris Evert, daughter of a teaching pro from a public park; Jimmy Connors, son of a toll booth attendant, taught by his mother in a back yard.

The golden age of American golf in the 1930s and ’40s was dominated by bitterly poor kids who were self-schooled: Ben Hogan, son of a widowed seamstress, who never finished high school and delivered newspapers to support himself; Byron Nelson, another poor dropout who snuck on to the Glen Garden Country Club course at night to practice in the dark; Sam Snead, still another self-taught caddie, who went to work at the age of seven.

For some reason, lately we’ve been telling kids in this country that golf and tennis are hard to teach, and expensive to learn. They aren’t. What we should be telling them is that it doesn’t cost a dime to imagine greatness, and they don’t need many tools to invent themselves. All they need is the ground under their feet, and some sticks.

“Nobody can tell me how Sam Snead’s croquet (putting style)...is illegal, and then tell me (the belly putter) is legal.”

Rex Hoggard catches up with Dave Stockton during his book tour stop at Golf Channel headquarters and asks about the belly putter.

“(Mickelson) is only going to get better at doing it. He’s got the eyes, he’s got the feel,” Stockton says. “With it anchored like that you’re only going to repeat (the stroke).”

To be clear, Stockton has no plans to convert to a long putter, nor would he advise one of his students to try one, at least not from the outset. In fact, he’s still not sure the long putter’s use should be legal, at least at the highest level.

“I’m old school. I don’t understand how you can anchor it on your body,” he says. “Nobody can tell me how Sam Snead’s croquet (putting style), where nothing is connected but just because you’re straddling your line is illegal, and then tell me (the belly putter) is legal.”

SF Mayoral Candidate Proposes Closing MacKenzie's Sharp Park

The San Francisco Chronicle's City Insider blog reports that Mayoral candidate and Supervisor John Avalos went ahead with a proposal to close the Alister MacKenzie-designed course, with a conversion of the property to be managed by the National Park Service.

''A partnership with the National Park Service will make Sharp Park more accessible, while allowing the city to reinvest resources into our neighborhood golf courses, parks and recreation centers,'' said Avalos, a mayoral candidate.

His proposal has the backing of such groups as the Sierra Club, Wild Equity Institute and National Parks Conservation Association. They hope to see the property transitioned back its more natural wetlands state.

The Recreation and Park Department wants to keep the golf course open, but has moved to reconfigure the design to keep golfers out of the most environmentally sensitive areas and has taken other measures to protect the vulnerable critters.

''We have worked to accommodate a diverse range of recreational activities at Sharp Park, including golf, hiking and dog walking, while continuing to pursue a plan with park stakeholders to restore precious habitat for the San Francisco garter snake and the California red-legged frog,'' said Phil Ginsburg, general manager of the Recreation and Park Department, which has jurisdiction over the park.

Among those opposed to the proposed transfer of the property to federal jurisdiction are U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, the San Mateo Board of Supervisors, the Pacifica City Council and Public Golf Alliance.

A lawsuit hopes to block any such transfer of the course, but the group faces an uphill battle. In an ideal world, resources would be pouring in from the cash rich organizations charged with running the game to help preserve a course with a fantastic legacy and which serves a diverse audience of golf world.

I profiled the situation at Sharp Park for Golf World in May, 2009.

Uihlein: "We can't argue that we have the best interest in the game. We can make that argument, but the fact is we represent the commercial landscape."

Courtesy of AP's Doug Ferguson, more of the kinder, gentler Acushnet CEO Wally Uihlein talking about the relationship between rulemakers and manufacturers.

The debate between tradition and technology has been around more than a century, and that is not likely to change. Uihlein said he can make an argument "for or against bifurcation" – different equipment rules for pros and amateurs – although that should not be an agenda that any manufacturer could promote.

"We still have a commercial genesis to that thought process," he said. "We can't argue that we have the best interest in the game. We can make that argument, but the fact is we represent the commercial landscape. And so, it doesn't matter how noble our argument is. It's still going to be seen as to some degree commercially prejudiced."

Uihlein said it's up to the R&A and the USGA to not only set the rules, but to assume greater responsibility in the game's future.

"If not, who does?" he said. "There's always going to be that question of whose game is it, and who's responsible for its perpetuation and sustenance."

Tour Bans Putter Anchoring; Eyes Competition Ball

Granted, it's the Gecko EuroPro Tour, but you have to start somewhere! 

James Mason at Planet Golf Review reports on the not particularly prominent tour stepping up to defend skill.

Just as Phil Mickelson was seen practicing with a belly putter at this weeks FedEx Cup, Deutsche Bank Championship, the Gecko EuroPro Tour’s director of golf Paul Netherton said “With the anchoring of the putter into a players midriff, we feel this gives a player an unfair advantage over the rest of the competitors in the field, which goes against the ethos and spirit of the game."

Paul went onto say, I have no problem with the development of equipment, especially for amateur golfers to progress and enjoy the game, but I feel at the top of the game the professionals, shouldn’t need gimmicks to compete.”

And they may not stop at the belly anchoring, assuming people play in these events!

How long it will take any of the big tours to follow suit remains to be seen, but at least the second tier tours are moving quickly. Paul Netherton told me the Gecko EuroPro Tour are also contemplating going with one competition ball, and are in talks with a manufacturer at the moment. He sees the situation similar to Formula one where the competing teams all use the same tyre for the season.