PGA Tour Exec Tim Finchem Opposed Anchor Putt Ban
It’s been a polarizing debate on the long and belly putters for the past few years and yesterday, it took another interesting turn. Tim Finchem announced that the PGA Tour is now in direct opposition of banning anchored putting as has been proposed by the governing bodies of the R&A and the USGA.
This could create some sticky situations going forward should the rule be adopted by the USGA but not so by the PGA and PGA Tour. Which rules will the average club golfer play by?
Perhaps more important is the underlying fundamental of how the anchored putting stroke become popular in the first place.
The Putting Yips
When a golfer goes to the belly putter or long putter, it’s almost always because they have developed some sort of flinch or “yip” in their putting stroke. This happens most commonly on shorter putts and when the right hand becomes over active compared to rocking the shoulders.
With a traditional or “short” putter, it is very easy to close or open the putter face even on short strokes. It’s pretty embarrassing completely missing the hole from 3 feet!
With a long putter that is anchored to the body, it becomes more difficult to “yip” with the hands. The long putter is also much heavier, requiring less of a delicate touch.
Learning How to Putt – The Right Way
99% of the time I’ve had golfers come to me with the so-called “putting yips”, it’s been due to their mental process, not some physical ailment like they want to believe.
Anxiety over the outcome of the putt is the true cause of the yips, nothing more, nothing less.
But, without going into my mental philosophy on golf, there are other things you can do to “de-yip” your putting stroke so you can putt with a standard putter.
The most important thing to do is learn how the putter head naturally wants to swing during the stroke. There is a great drill in this putting video that teaches you that motion.
Learning how to keep your hands and wrists very soft will make the drill in that golf instruction video a piece of cake and have you flowing the putter like Brad Faxon and making more putts in no time.
Ensuring you’re setup to the ball correctly also has a big impact on how well you putt. Many times golfers overlook very simple setup fundamentals that make it much easier to “yip” during the putting stroke, especially when it comes to the grip.
If you’ve been struggling with your putting and want to return to using a normal length putter, then use our massive resource of putting instruction videos below to get you back on the path to rolling the rock like a tour pro.
Perfect Your Putting
