"While longer-than-standard putters are to be condemned and, in time, run out of the game, they do not represent a serious threat to the way in which golf is played at the highest level."

In his Scotland on Sunday column, John Huggan writes about how the ResetCup is sending players into the Ryder Cup playing a lot and in most cases, better than they did in the past.

But of more interest is his recognition of what feels like a looming PR problem in the making for the governing bodies: swift and aggressive action on anchoring the putter while still paying nothing more than lip service to the skill-changing impact of modern technology.

Huggan writes:

According to my friend Darius Oliver and his admirable blog (www.planetgolf.com), McIlroy’s victory at last month’s USPGA Championship was “at least the 35th in succession by a major champion using a 400+ cubic centimetre driver head”. Oliver goes on to call this phenomenon “an abomination” and he isn’t far wrong.

Think about it. While the long putters may have to an extent changed the look of the professional game, they have not significantly altered the way golf is played or, indeed, scoring levels. The same cannot be said of drivers with heads the size of frying pans, or, indeed, the hybrid clubs that have largely replaced long irons.

Back in the not-so-distant days when Greg Norman was the best player in the world, the Australian largely built his pre-eminence on his ability with the longest club. Norman was a magnificent driver using a persimmon-headed club and a balata ball, his superior technique giving him – quite rightly – a significant advantage over his competition.

Were Norman competing seriously today, that edge would be all but gone. Purely through the advent of technology, players can now “buy” a better game, to the point where practically everyone on tour is at least good off the tee. The art of driving has been almost completely lost.