Two years have passed since anchored putting was banned, but the USGA’s wording of the rule is still causing some consternation on the PGA Tour Champions. The two most dominant players in 2017—Bernhard Langer (below) and Scott McCarron—finished 1st and 2nd in Putting Average. Both use a long putter and a controversial method, that rules officials have declared legal. I wrote about the issue for Golfweek. You can read it here.
Eamon Lynch 
Hello Eamon,
Just read your 19th Hole column in the February issue of Golfweek, and you are right on. In fact, you were too nice (I understand why); Americans will take anything sacred and screw it up, proof being the Phoenix event. A little background: I was born in this country (United States) and took up golf three seasons ago. I love the sport and the beautiful courses I have played on around my area. Unfortunately, the other people on the course ruin the game, getting hammered the entire time, not practicing any golf etiquette, leaving cigar butts on the green, zipping around in golf carts (which shouldn’t even exist). etc. I guarantee that over half of the spectators at the Phoenix event are regular golfers, and they act (basically) the same way on the course when they are playing, at least in that direction. They all cheat (take mulligans); it is why they spray the driver off of every par 4 and 5 tee. There is no strategy/nuance in American golf; everyone tries to hit the ball as far as possible on basically every shot, trying to “out distance” the playing partners. My dream is to play in Scotland someday; taking my time walking, having the communion with nature that the forefathers of the game envisioned. My favorite time of the day is right as the sun is coming up, soaking my shoes in the dewy grass, watching the deer and other animals watch me curiously as I traverse down the fairway, following the path of my ball, the only soul on the course. Once the carts (and the ensuing idiots) hit the course, one never sees deer, beavers, other wildlife, etc. I wonder what the forefathers would think if they got to observe the Phoenix event…alcohol should be banned from the course, it ruins a beautiful game. I wish I could find a course in my area that DOESN’T allow carts; unfortunately, many courses don’t allow walking, guess it takes too much time, although I can walk a 6500 yard course in two and a half hours for 18 holes, visualizing my shot as I approach the ball, picking the club, and being ready to shoot when I reach the ball. This is how the sport was meant to be played…
Thanks for writing that article…and letting me get out the frustration of having to play this beautiful sport in this country of idiots…
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