"The belly putter aficionados haven't exactly been devout."
/Elling: Some guys have had the yips with drivers, too. But the biggest question looms: Is it worse to ban the thing or to give players like Adam Scott, Vijay Singh and Ernie Els another lease on life? Besides, like the claw grip that was all the rage -- and is still used by a handful of players -- the belly putter aficionados haven't exactly been devout. Stewart Cink gave up on his and won a major soon thereafter. Same for Singh before his PGA Championship win at Whistling Straits. Retief Goosen, Furyk and Els have switched so many times, it's hard to keep track. Even Lee Westwood has used it, including earlier this year at the Masters.
Huggan: Nerve has to be part of the game. With those awful things, that element is all but eliminated. So, while I feel sorry for those pros who would immediately be uncompetitive at the highest level, they have to go. I bet some of those guys -- Ernie, for example -- hate themselves for having to use a crutch, one that exposes their weakness to the world.
Elling: Here's what I would do. Rather than wait around for the USGA to drink some coffee and wake up, I would institute a local rule on the major tours banning any putter beyond a prescribed length. The tours are empowered to do exactly that, but they would have to agree across the board, and any amateur competing in a pro event would have to comply. It would amount to the same bifurcation scenario as with grooves in the pro and amateur levels at the moment. There, it's fixed. Start date is January, 2012.
Elling: One last aside: Fred Couples won the 12th and final Champions Tour major of the season Sunday with a belly putter, too. I'm telling you, if Tiger Woods isn't considering it, he's crazy.
Huggan: Prescribed length is tricky, given that golfers are not all the same height. All they have to do is say that the putter has to be the shortest club in the bag. And yes, I'm only talking about the pros. Anything that keeps yipping amateurs out there on the links is fine with me. If Tiger goes belly-up, I'm giving up.
I'm not finding anyone defending the bracing of putters against the body except the players who benefit from what some of us consider to be blatant cheating. Nor do I sense anyone wants to ban the long putter. Instead, just the notion of bracing the putter against the torso. Defenders?
