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.

State Of The Game, Episode 3: "The game's never been easier and people have never complained more about how hard it is."

That stellar quote came from Mike Clayton during this week's belly putter-focused show.

You'll hear some sound clips from Tiger Woods and a few I picked up at the USGA Annual Meeting. Panelists Clayton and Huggan are joined by special guest and long putter exponent Craig Spence chat about what figures to be a huge issue over the coming year. Rod Morri hosts, and music is supplied by Lloyd Cole. Give it a listen.

Here's the direct link to the third episode.

Here's a directory with the first three episodes.

And here's the itunes page for the show where you can get all three or subscribe, it's free.

Or finally, you can listen below:

USGA Annual Meeting Quick Roundup: Belly Putter On The Table, Distance Debate And The Nager Inauguration

There's a lot to parse from today's USGA meeting at the Hilton Post Modern Shopping Center and Executive Suites, Houston but I'll try to just highlight the bullet points for now because there's a loud group next door causing a ruckus on floor 13 and...wait, it's the Bluecoats/Grey Slackapoolaza After Party!

Who knew they'd leave the annual meeting and hit another open bar to regale themselves with tales of free drops and decisions that almost didn't become part of the swelling book! (Which reminds me, I hope Mrs. Driver...yes, that Mrs. Driver, found the lost jewels she called my room asking for! And no, I didn't ID myself and kindly suggested she was looking for two rooms over because I have to rest easily for that 5 a.m. wake-up call.)

Anyway, a few thoughts from lucky floor 13...

-- Anchoring the putter is very much on the table. Easily the takeaway of the day: The USGA and R&A  discussed the belly putter during last week's Far Hills meetings and in particular, the concept of anchoring. It wasn't long ago they were shrugging off the notion of players bracing a putter against their bodies, but according to new USGA President Glen Nager, the sudden market interest in long putters (check out this NY Times Adam Schupak story from Sunday), and to a lesser degree, the notion that some players view it as a form of cheating, has put the anchoring concept on their radar. (I have some great stuff from Nager on this, to be transcribed...).

-- USGA Inc turned a profit again! Praise Our Lord And Savior, Walter Driver. Yes, according to retiring Treasurer (what was in those parting gift bags?) Christopher Liedel, the USGA raked in $7.5 million in profit last year in spite of President Obama and his economy. Oh wait, that's from my cocktail reception notes. Anyway, Liedel said there was "an extraordinary effort at Golf House on delivering quality results" with $251 million in the "investment portfolio." The "financial house is in very good order," he said at the shareholder meeting. Here's the annual report if you don't believe me.

--Dan Burton, Chair of the Equipment Standards committee, announced to the group he can say "with great confidence our relationship with the golf manufacturing community is the best it's been in many years." That's a load off.

--New President Glen Nager is picking up on Jim Hyler's agenda of firm and fast, then multiplying it X 5. I feel Hyler doesn't get enough credit for pushing an agenda that old guard USGA presidents would have felt was outside the bounds of good taste for USGAers to be pursuing (that silly sustainability nonsense!). His tenture will be admired for years to come for having the courage to take on a tough subject in American golfing circles. But Nager sounds like he's going to take it a step further. Check out these comments from his address (these are the actual transcripted comments, not the prepared remarks):

But even Tee It Forward is also not alone enough. Golf courses today are wider, longer, lusher and more costly to maintain for a variety of different reasons. One owners, developers, and architects design courses with the elite player in the mind even though most of the golfers that play the golf courses can’t hit it the distances that the elite players do. Each week we watch on TV the exciting championships put on by the PGA Tour. Those golf courses are groomed for that one week. Then we go back to our golf courses and ask our golf course superintendents to maintain our golf courses to those same kind of pristine conditions. Most avid golfers better has been defined as more difficult, longer, rather than more enjoyable. And for equipment … we see golf courses being changed to accommodate changes in equipment and balls rather than adopting a paradigm of we should change equipment and balls to fit the way golf courses currently exist. For us to truly sustain the game, we’re going to have to consider changing some of these paradigms and reset expectations for great golf courses that are shorter, more smartly set-up, more affordable, and more fun for the average recreational golfer.

--Bifurcation is off the table, not that it was ever on the table. Here's Jim Achenbach on the b word being a no-no, with today's remarks killing John Solheim's concept for three balls and any other ideas folks might have about two sets of rules for pros and hackers.

--It pays to win the British Amateur.  Ryan Herrington noted the amateurs getting more exemptions into the U.S. Open, normally a news story except on a day like today when there was a sense the USGA is prepared to stir things up in the coming two years.

And I'll leave you with one more eye-opening portion of President Nager's address as transcribed by my colleague Ryan Herrington. This one's copied and pasted just for your Wally!

The good news, as Chris has pointed out, the USGA is currently financially stable and strong. Our revenues consistently exceed our expenses. We have a substantial reserve to protect us against unforeseen events and litigation in the market in the face of regulatory initiatives we might implement. and we are particularly fortunate to have a prestigious national championship, the U.S. Open, that generates each year substantial financial resources for us. But we also need to be careful not to play undue financial stress on the U.S. Open if we are to maintain its integrity and reputation. And our recent championship history shows, whether it came from tickets sales or merchandise sales we are not immune from the economic challenges that the entire world is facing.