THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – When the USGA and R&A announced their joint proposal on anchored putting Wednesday, it was believed that Matt Kuchar would be breathing easier, as his style of holding the shaft against his inner forearm was deemed legal.
Kuchar, though, said he was never worried.
“I was always confident it was OK,” he contended. “I control both ends of the club and I think that’s what they’re looking for.”
As for the decision, Kuchar thinks the right call was made by the governing bodies, but doesn’t believe anchoring is as much of an advantage as some people seem to think.
“Putting with a belly putter or an anchored putter is a skill,” he said. “I tried it for six weeks at the beginning of 2012 and I didn’t feel like I got any better. I struggled with figuring out what to do if I started missing putts in a certain direction. Putting conventionally or putting with the grip up my forearm, I kind of have a system of what to do if things get off. I never got a system with the belly putter.”