Proposed Anchored Putting Ban
Chad Saladin
Mrs. Elmore
Expository Writing
25 February 2013
Argument/Debate Paper, Proposed Anchoring Ban There has been a recent shift in putting techniques on the PGA Tour. Not a colossal movement, just a shift. This shift in putting technique has been gaining steam for years, even decades. More and more PGA Tour players are using a putting technique called anchoring. The technique is very simple. The player uses a lengthened putter and anchors the grip end of the club somewhere on the player’s body. The grip end of the putter is usually placed in the or around the belly button, then the player strikes the ball with the putter. Golf’s top two governing bodies, the United States Golf Association and the Royal and Ancient Golf Association, have moved to outlaw this technique and have proposed a ban which is scheduled to start in the year 2016. There is no need for this proposed ban and any attempt to outlaw this putting technique will be a detriment to the great game of golf. The anchored putting technique should be kept legal because it has been legal since its inception thirty years ago and golf’s popularity has blossomed during that time, there is no proof that this technique makes putting any easier, and the USGA has already ruled, twice, to keep anchored putting legal in the past. The major argument for banning the anchored putter is that it makes putting easier and is therefore cheating. Based on a recent survey from the PGA Tour, only 18% of PGA Tour players anchor their putter to their body. This putting technique has been utilized in golf for over 30 years and PGA Tour players make their living by playing golf at its highest levels. Players will generally take any and every advantage they can get, within the rules, in order to lower their scores. Yet, only 18% of players who make their living playing golf use this technique. If this technique is such an advantage that number should be getting pretty close to 100%.
Mrs. Elmore
Expository Writing
25 February 2013
Argument/Debate Paper, Proposed Anchoring Ban There has been a recent shift in putting techniques on the PGA Tour. Not a colossal movement, just a shift. This shift in putting technique has been gaining steam for years, even decades. More and more PGA Tour players are using a putting technique called anchoring. The technique is very simple. The player uses a lengthened putter and anchors the grip end of the club somewhere on the player’s body. The grip end of the putter is usually placed in the or around the belly button, then the player strikes the ball with the putter. Golf’s top two governing bodies, the United States Golf Association and the Royal and Ancient Golf Association, have moved to outlaw this technique and have proposed a ban which is scheduled to start in the year 2016. There is no need for this proposed ban and any attempt to outlaw this putting technique will be a detriment to the great game of golf. The anchored putting technique should be kept legal because it has been legal since its inception thirty years ago and golf’s popularity has blossomed during that time, there is no proof that this technique makes putting any easier, and the USGA has already ruled, twice, to keep anchored putting legal in the past. The major argument for banning the anchored putter is that it makes putting easier and is therefore cheating. Based on a recent survey from the PGA Tour, only 18% of PGA Tour players anchor their putter to their body. This putting technique has been utilized in golf for over 30 years and PGA Tour players make their living by playing golf at its highest levels. Players will generally take any and every advantage they can get, within the rules, in order to lower their scores. Yet, only 18% of players who make their living playing golf use this technique. If this technique is such an advantage that number should be getting pretty close to 100%.