Tour Bans Putter Anchoring; Eyes Competition Ball
/Granted, it's the Gecko EuroPro Tour, but you have to start somewhere!
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.
