Haas hoping for quick resolution to anchoring debate

• By Will Gray
• Jan 23, 2013 6:42 PM ET

SAN DIEGO - While players remain tight-lipped over the content and dialogue of last night's meeting with U.S. Golf Association executive director Mike Davis to discuss, in part, the future of the anchored putting stroke on the PGA Tour, one prominent player indicated a desire for resolution to one of golf's hottest topics.

"I'm interested to see how long it takes for that rule to get implemented," said Bill Haas, who used an anchored putter en route to winning the 2011 FedEx Cup. "If they're going to make it a rule, then they need to do it sooner rather than later, I think."

Though the USGA and Royal & Ancient proposed the ban on anchored putting strokes last fall, it is not currently slated to take effect until 2016. Whether the PGA Tour will implement the rule change - and the timeline of adoption, should they decide to do so - both remain to be seen.

A four-time winner on Tour, Haas expressed concern Wednesday over how players with anchored putters might be viewed if the proposed ban is slow to be fully implemented.

"If it takes a couple years, then they need to make a point of it to the players...that if they have a good couple years, for there never to be an asterisk, for them never to be called cheaters," he explained.

Haas also noted the current perception of players using anchored putting strokes as another reason to need quick resolution on the issue.

"We're already hearing people call those players cheaters," he added. "I think that needs to be addressed. It's not cheating."

Like Haas, Keegan Bradley has used an anchored putter successfully over the last two seasons, becoming the first to win a major with an anchored stroke at the 2011 PGA Championship. Unlike Haas, though, he'd like to see the Tour give players ample time to adjust should the ban take effect.

"I would hope that they give us some time if there is a change, that would be nice," he stated. "But whatever they decide is OK with me."