Does anchoring the putter give a player an unfair advantage in pressure situations?
Apparently, U.S. Golf Association chief executive Mike Davis told Graeme McDowell that he has evidence to prove it does, the Northern Irishman said Tuesday at the Australian Masters.
“They’re convinced the research has shown that under pressure on a Sunday afternoon, the long putter just kind of takes one extraneous movement out of the putting stroke,” McDowell said, according to the Herald Sun. “It just makes it physically easier to stroke the putter when the nerves are there, (and) I think we should be leveling the playing field (by banning anchoring).
“I think it’s probably something they’re disappointed in themselves that it’s got to this point. They probably should have nipped it in the bud many, many years ago.”
Ian Poulter, the event’s defending champion, said that he wouldn’t be baited into answering a question about whether players who used the long putter were “cheating.” But he did offer this: “Ban it. End of story. I mean, don’t anchor the butt end of the club. It’s simple, right?”