'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
The new rule does not ban the long putters, only the way they commonly are used. Golfers no longer will be able to anchor the club against their bodies to create the effect of a hinge.
Selected quotes on the Royal & Ancient and U.S. Golf Association approving Rule 14-1b, which bans in 2016 the anchored stroke commonly used with long putters:
Golf's two governing bodies outlawed the anchored putting stroke used by four of the last six major champions, approving a new rule that starts in 2016 and urging the PGA Tour to follow along so the 600-year-old sport is still played under one set of rules.
The biggest rivalry in golf at the moment could be the heads of two different organizations on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
The course at Muirfield will be lengthened by 158 yards for this year's British Open.
Royal & Ancient chief executive Peter Dawson is looking into regulations that could keep Rory McIlroy from choosing which team he represents in the 2016 Olympics.
Just because the home of the Masters now has female members, the Royal & Ancient Golf Club has no plans to pressure the all-male clubs in the British Open rotation to change its membership policies.
With only a few weeks left before a decision on long putters, British Open champion Ernie Els hopes that golf officials change their minds.
Even without the top four players in the world around to kick off the season, every new year in golf is shrouded in mystery like clouds over Molokai across the channel from Kapalua.
The putt was meaningless because it was the final hole of a pro-am in what amounts to an 18-man exhibition at the end of the year, even though ranking points are available at the World Challenge. But it was hard not to look at the end of the putter pressed into the belly of Keegan Bradley.
Golf's governing bodies, worried that players will turn to long putters as an advantage instead of a last resort, proposed a new rule Wednesday that would ban the putting stroke used by three of the last five major champions.
Golf's governing bodies, worried that players will turn to long putters as an advantage instead of a last resort, proposed a new rule Wednesday that would ban the putting stroke used by three of the last five major champions.
Brace yourself _ just not your putter.
Webb Simpson and Keegan Bradley, two of the major faces in the debate over belly putters, said Tuesday they would not fight a change in the rules if golf's governing bodies decide to outlaw putters anchored to the body.
The Old Course at St. Andrews will have a slightly new look when the British Open returns in 2015.
Peter Dawson, CEO at the Royal and Ancient, says "we will be setting the course up to challenge the golfers."
"It's quite ambiguous as there are regulations within the IOC that if you play previous world championships for a certain country, that has to carry with you."
