Belly Putter Rant: "The course designers are the ones who have lost sight of the spirit of the game."

I had such high hopes for Dr. Craig Farnsworth's plea to save the belly putter and anchoring, figuring he was going to make the straightforward but certainly valid point that some everyday golfers would be discouraged if you took away something that has made the game more enjoyable for them.

Farnsworth's point is built around the "spirit of the game" argument cited by anchoring antagonists and he takes the governing bodies to task for not defending the spirit of the game by allowing a hot ball.

And you know who is to blame for violating the spirit of the game? The architects!

So far, the ball is so hot -- let alone the equipment changes -- it has made many courses obsolete for better players, especially PGA Tour players. One answer for this dilemma is to make course changes. That's why we're seeing courses at 7,600 to 8,000 yards. In addition, we can add more bunkers, design greens with multiple sections, and make other adjustments to strengthen the "challenge."

It's no wonder that amateur handicaps have changed little in decades. The course designers are the ones who have lost sight of the spirit of the game.

And therefore anchoring should be allowed to offset the evil work of the architects.

Can't we get some sanity back when it comes to the game -- the spirit of the game -- by starting to realize that present course designs are ridiculous at best? Modern green complexes scare the average player because when they are on the green, they are relegated to a three-putt, at best.

At best, no.