The King On The State Of The Game

Arnold Palmer sat down at his trusty typewriter and banged out a state of the game essay for GolfChannel.com.

Mostly, The King thinks things are swell, but he did touch on a few of the "issues" the game faces.

We need to address the distance that today’s ball travels. Slow play is turning time-starved people away from the sport. We need to encourage nine-hole rounds. We have environmental concerns to deal with and we have to keep a vigilant eye on the standards of sportsmanship that set our game apart. The U.S. Golf Association and R&A recently announced a ban on the practice of “anchoring” clubs – usually a long or belly-length putter – against the body. I applaud them for not only their ruling, but also for the patient and thoughtful approach they took, studying the issue for years and across all levels of golf before making their decision. There was nothing knee-jerk about it. The game is in good hands.