The Long Putter Resource

The November 30, 2012 update add quotes and links to comments from Keegan Bradley, Phil Mickelson, Scotty Cameron and Bob Weeks.

The November 29, 2012 update added quotes from or links to Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Brandt Snedeker, Bubba Watson, Hunter Mahan, Jim Furyk, Graeme McDowell, Steve Flesch, Mark O'Meara, Michael Babberger, Alistair Tait, Jason Schupak, Jeff Babinaeu, Jason Lusk and the golf club manufacturers(!). The best new quotes are from Johnny Miller in his GolfChannel phone interview with Rich Lerner which we transcribed. Johnny at his best!

The November 28, 2012 update added quotes from Tiger, the PGA, the LPGA, Peter Dawson, Mike Davis, Gary Player (on twitter!), Keegan Bradley, Brandt Snedeker, Paul Azinger, Lorne Rubenstein and Gary Van Sickle.

Last Updated November 29, 2012

TheTeeSheet has been on the record for a long time as being against the long putter or basically anything that makes golf look like a sport that belongs in a retirement home or ocean cruise. The USGA and R&A have announced the proposed ban on anchoring.

Let's take a look at where everyone else stand. We'll divide this up as follows

• The Current Players
• Retired Players and Champions Tour playes
• The Governing Bodies
• The Talking and Typing Heads
• Everyone Else

  Here is also a handy little timeline of the long putter provided by the New York Times.

First and foremost, let's consider that the most important and porminant players in the game today think. Whatever their current form, the game and headlines are driven by Tiger, Rory and Phil. Like it or not, no one else can move the needle like these guys. Nothing much out there from Rory but Tiger is clearly against and Phil walks the line.

Tiger is clearly anti-long putter. "I've never been a fan of it. (Putting is) about the art of controlling the body and club and swinging the pendulum motion. That's how golf should be played. I'm a traditionalist when it comes to that."

Tiger [Nov.27.12 AP]: "I just believe that the art of putting is swinging the club and controlling nerves. And having it as a fixed point, as I was saying all year, is something that’s not in the traditions of the game. We swing all other 13 clubs. I think the putter should be the same. I don’t know if there’s any statistical data on it ... about whether or not anchoring the putter does help on a certain range of putts, especially the guys who have gotten the twitches a little bit. But one of the things that I was concerned about going forward is the kids who get started in the game and starting to putt with an anchoring system. There have been some guys who have had success out here, and obviously everyone always copies what we do out here. And that’s something that I think for the greater good of the game needs to be adjusted."

Phil Mickelson has tried out the long putter. He has said "To make a putt, you have to read it correctly; you have to start the ball on the correct line, and you have to hit it with the right speed. And I've found that starting the ball on the right line was much easier with the belly putter, but I still had to read it right, and I still had to get the right speed."

Phil has also said, "I look at the guys on the Champions Tour; I think that it's saved a lot of careers. I look at a number of my friends who are amateurs who wouldn't play the game out of embarrassment or frustration, their inability to make short putts, and I think that the belly putter has meant a lot to a lot of people who still enjoy the game. I just think that the USGA should be promoting the game and should not be going back on their past decisions."

Mickelson [golfchannel.com Nov.30.12]: "I hope this doesn't detract from the growth of the game ... There's a lot of other fights in the game of golf that I'd rather focus my attention on ... I think it's a question that I'm not really getting involved in. However it ends up, it ends up."

Let's take a look at the rest of the current players.

Luke Donald: "Anyone in their right mind who is reasonably proficient with a shorter putter would be a proponent for getting rid of anchored putters. It’s an advantage for someone who struggles on the green. Managing anxiety and nerves down the stretch is an important part of golf. And I think that takes it out of your hands a little bit."

Padraig Harrington: "Clearly, in the rules, the fact is that if somebody invented the belly putter tomorrow, there is no way they would let it through. The only reason it got through is the people that used it 20 years ago were coming to the end of their careers and people were sympathetic.”

Graeme McDowell is pretty strong on the subject saying, "When you can anchor the putter to a part of your body, that just takes one extraneous movement out of the putting stroke. It's just kind of a physical fact that if you can just take one element of movement and motion out of the stroke, holing putts will become easier."

McDowell has also said "It wasn't such a big issue two, three, four years ago, when they weren't in the spotlight and winning major events. Putting is such a big part of the game. Let's level the playing field again. Let's get everyone with a short putter back in the bag, as the game is meant to be played.

McDowell: "They're convinced the research has shown that under pressure on a Sunday afternoon the long putter just kind of takes one extraneous movement out of the putting stroke ... It just makes it physically easier to stroke the putter when the nerves are there (and) I think we should be leveling the playing field (by banning it). I think it's probably something they're disappointed in themselves that it's got to this point. They probably should have nipped it in the bud many, many years ago."

More by McDowell after the announcement [SI's golf.com Press Tent]:"I thought they were very careful and very considered in their statements. They came up with the only verdict that they could have, really. Something had to be done. The integrity of the putting stroke had changed, and it's important going forward that they nip it in the bud, and I don't think anyone is surprised by what they've come up with. It's important it was done, and I think it's good for the game going forward."

Ian Poulter: "Ban it. End of story. I mean, don't anchor the butt end of the club. It's simple, right?"

Brandt Snedeker: "I feel (long putters and anchoring) takes a lot of nerves out of it. I feel like when you're under pressure and under stress on the 72nd hole and you have to make a 5-footer, I want to know how your hands feel. I don't want that putter stuck against your body. It obviously takes nerves out of it. Otherwise guys wouldn't be doing it."

Snedeker [Nov.28.12 USA Today]: "The PGA Tour has never made its own rules. I don't see them starting that now. I don't see that being a good move. The game of golf is bigger than the PGA Tour. I don't want to start adopting rules for Tour players. This is where PGA Tour players need to realize where we stand in golf — we're disposable commodities. The guys who are running the game of golf are very, very intelligent people, and whatever they decide, the players should get behind 100%."

More Snedeker [from Nov.28.12 GoldDigest]: This rule has not been made because three guys won majors; this rule has been made because there's a generation of golfers who have never had a short putter and is that the way the game of golf is supposed to go? That's not up for me, Keegan Bradley, me, Brad Faxon to decide. I wish it was because it would be an easy decision for me. So I think, I say this all the time, we as Tour pros, we all think we're very, very smart. We're not when it comes to governing the game of golf. We have no clue how to do that. The USGA and the R&A do. Peter Dawson and Mike Davis are extremely intelligent people. They know what they're doing when it comes to the game of golf. I trust them implicitly, 100 percent, whatever they decide to do, and I think that's the way the game of golf should be. And I think the guys on Tour should fall in line with that rule.  I don't think there should ever be two sets of rules. The PGA Tour has never done that. I don't see that happening any time soon.

Ernie Els: "I will keep cheating like the rest of them. It's going to be a bit of an issue now. I've been against it, but since I've been using it, it still takes a lot of practice, and you have to perfect your own way of putting with this belly."

Ernie [after winning with the long putter], "I feel the same as most of the traditionalists. I feel that no club should be anchored to your body. I was in such a state that I felt that I needed to change something, which I did. I went to the belly. It hasn't really helped me that much, but it has helped me. But I'm for it. Ban it."

Keegan Bradley told Golfweek's Alex Miceli, "I'm going to do whatever I have to do to protect myself and the other players on (the PGA) Tour. I look at it as a whole, as us all together. I don't look at it as much about myself. I think that for them to ban this after we've done what we've done is unbelievable." In that same article, Miceli quoted Carl Pettersson as saying "It's a different way of putting. You have to work on it. It's a different technique, and I think pace was a big difference; the thing I don't like is when people say it's a lot easier to putt with a long putter, because it really might not be. You've got to put the time and effort in and develop a stroke. It's just a different way of putting."

Bradley [Nov.28.12 MiamiHerald]: "You know, I'm not -- obviously not happy with the ruling, but I respect the USGA, and especially Mike Davis. They make the rules, and I'll adjust appropriately. But I'm going to accept the challenge and hopefully do well when they do ban it."

Bradley [Nov.29.12 USA Today]: " … I hope that people look at us — when I say us, guys who use a long putter or belly putter — for the accomplishments and the players that we are, not look at us for using an unconventional putter. I feel like the USGA has really put an X on our back and really shined a light on us, and I don't know if that's exactly fair. When we started putting with it, they were legal, and they still are. It's a sticky situation, and I hope people can see through that."

Bradley [Nov.29.12 WSJ]: "I'm going to make a switch when I feel it's best for me. And whether that's tomorrow or in three years, we'll see."

Bradley [Nov.29.12 USA Today]: "There was a lot of joking around, a lot of ribbing and I finally had enough of it on the putting green the other day. I was putting with Tiger, and I grabbed Tiger's putter, and all of a sudden I see everyone start to walk around and start to look. I took his (standard-length) putter, which is about the opposite of what I putt with; it's upright, it's light, it's a blade, and I made three out of four putts from 10 feet, so I made sure to remind those guys every time I see them that I made those putts ... You don't want to see Tiger putt with that putter. If it was up to me, I'd film him and send that to Mike Davis and I think he would take the ban off ... It'll be an adjustment, but it's one that I kind of look forward to, to get up and know I've got to work hard, and that excites me. I realize that Twitter and these type of things are going to be difficult on you because there's no face to them, so they can write whatever they'd like and they don't realize that I'm going to actually sit there and probably read the things. I've been doing a better job lately of not reading them, but I'm going to make a switch when I feel is best for me, and whether that's tomorrow or in three years, we'll see."

Webb Simpson: "Do I think they should be banned? No, and here's why: You take a wooden driver compared to (driver with a) 460cc titanium (head), and to me that's a lot bigger difference than a 35-inch putter to a 45-inch putter." Webb Simpson has also said in another GolfWeek article that "I'm friends with a lot of the R&A guys and the USGA guys. It's nothing personal and I know they are trying to do it for the betterment of the game. But I don't think it's a good decision."

Simpson added "If the USGA bans it, I think it's going to be a whole other ballgame if the PGA Tour bans it. It's going to be tough if they do ban it. It's going to be tough for a lot of people. Not players, I think it's going to be tough for the committees to really have their stance on it. If you look at the facts, last year there was no one in the top 20 of strokes gained category that anchored a putter.... So the argument of, 'It's an advantage', you have to throw that out there. There's a bunch of arguments going around but I haven't heard a good one yet."

More Simpson: "What I found was that I just became a more consistent putter. I don't get hot quite as much, I don't get cold quite as much. With the short putter I was a real streaky putter. The best players in the game, who have had long careers, have been steady players, which is why I switched. But I'm not worried about it. I'm ready, and if they do it for next year, I'll be ready."

Even More Simpson: "We all know that the R&A and USGA love to keep golf as original as possible. But I think with the changes in the grooves, the golf balls, the drivers — you've got a little persimmon head 20 years ago the size of a fist, and now a titanium head 460 cc. In 1980, the long drive guy was hitting it 285, and now if you hit it 285, you're one of the shortest guys on the Tour. To me, it's a bigger change to go from that size head to what we play now than the putter."

One way or another, at least what we learned from Simpson is that the guy at least has something interesting to say.

Carl Pettersson "I've used one for 15 years now. I don't see why they should change it. I don't like the way they say it's easier to putt with a long putter, an anchored putter. It isn't easier. If it was easier, everybody on Tour would use a long putter or a belly putter. You have to practice and develop a stroke with the long putter just like you do with the short putter. There are no guarantees of making it easier. If you're going to ban the long putter, you might as well ban the hybrids, the big drivers and the ball that goes 300 miles. I think it falls under the same umbrella as some of the other equipment. This is the way the game has gone. Would I adapt? Well, I'd have to. I've got a high school diploma. What else am I going to do?"

Adam Scott "I don't think it's as clear-cut, that it's better on short putts or better on long putts than the short or long putter when you balance them off. It's not; it's just putting. It's the same thing. You have to read the green, and you have to hit it at the right speed."

Adam Scott [Nov.28.12 from FoxSports.com]: "I understand about the kids using belly putters and not short putters, but they also have never used a 1-iron!. That argument has no relevance, in my opinion. There is no proof that putting with an anchored style putter is easier, better or stops nerves. It is a different method that some people find more comfortable and others don't. There are no facts to say that you WILL make more putts putting with an anchored putter. My opinion is that the governing bodies are in place to protect the integrity of the game not the traditions of the game.”

Tom Lehman: "If there were this method of putting where it was foolproof and you couldn't miss and it just turned this whole game into a joke because it was so simple and so foolproof, I would say that's probably worth looking at. The long putter and the belly putter have helped guys who have struggled to keep their careers intact or bring them back from the depths, but it's not foolproof."

Tim Clark: "It's something that's been used a lot more on the Tour now than it had been in the years gone by and that's probably why it's become an issue now. In my mind, (golf's governing bodies) left it way too long to come down and say we're going to ban it. It should have been banned 20 years ago if they were going to ban it.The fact that they haven't by now, I think they've left it too long and too many guys have made their career out of using a certain piece of equipment that they're suddenly going to take away from them. I don't know what decision they're going to make. It's not something I'll worry about now. I'll wait for a decision to be made and take it from there."

Maria Hjorth: "I'm using a long putter, so I don't think they should ban it. I don't think it's a big advantage, which I think is how they are looking at it. I don't see why they should. A lot of juniors are coming out now and that's all they use and all they're used to. It's all they know. 

Brad Faxon told the Associated Press in 2011, “It’s like the two-handed backhand in tennis. Twenty years ago, it was not the norm. Now it’s the better way to go. The belly putter and the long putter are going to trend that way.”

James Driscoll "It’s clearly an easier, better way to putt."

Bubba Watson [SI's golf.com Press Tent]: "My reaction is: three years from now? Some of the people are probably going to be retired by then. ... I don't understand. They make a rule, but [it goes into effect] three years from now. If they make a rule, why wouldn't it be immediate? It's just funny how it is. But a lot of people have some disagreements about it. But they changed the grooves and now they're changing the anchoring. If they make the rule change, then it's what they do, you know?"

Hunter Mahan [SI's golf.com Press Tent]: "I guess I've never been a fan of anchoring. It kind of defeats the purpose to some of the game, and what the purpose of putting is, because putting is all about pressure and it's all about feel and it's all about handling adversity, handling things. With the anchoring in there it kind of takes that out of play, so I think it just kind of defeated the purpose. And I think the fact that kids or anyone just starting the game was starting with the belly putter was the main issue, so I think they had to act. You feel bad for guys who have never used a short putter before. I know guys like Keegan and Webb haven't used [a short putter] much in their whole careers, so I think that's unfortunate. But I think it's for the betterment of the game to make this ruling the way they did. And there's plenty of time, three full years. And I know Webb's putted with short putters before, and most all the guys that use a belly putter have used a short putter before, so I don't think it's going to be a drastic change for them. They're good players; they know how to adjust to things."

Jim Furyk [SI's golf.com Press Tent]: "We as a Tour were given a heads-up that something may be coming, so right now I think I'll go with what the Tour stated, that we really need to look at what they're trying to do and see how it affects us as a Tour, how it affects the game, and how it affects the players on our Tour and kind of figure out what we want to do from there. It would be kind of foolish for me, because of being on the board and because I represent all the players of the PGA Tour, to go out there and give you my personal opinion, just because I represent something much bigger and greater than that."

Lefty Steve Flesch pulled no punches with some of his tweets over the past two days:

• "Enough with the 90 days and actual rule change in 3 yrs. USGA just needs to implement the rule and move on."
• "What the hell was the rush to announce the anchoring ban when it doesn'tmatter for 3 yrs? Show some guts and make it effective 1 yr from now"
• "Don't agree with putter against forearm being legal either. That's gonna be a sticking point."
• "The Brutal honesty Any tour player saying that belly or long is a better way to putt is simply denying the fact that they have the flinches!"

What do the big guys think? That's Jack, Arnold, Tom, Johnny, Lee, Gary, Nick, Greg. There the big guys because I only need to use there first names. Not everyone one of these legends has quotes out there yet but this is what we have so far.

Jack Nicklaus (pre-Ernie in spring of 2012 so does not seem to count Angel Cabrerra and Vijay Singh): "I’m not offended by it. It's a hard game, people need help. I don’t have an issue one way or another with it. You still got to knock it in the hole. That’s the only way I look at it. How many majors have been won with one? One."

Jack also was asked about the new ban on GolfChannel's Morning Drive program here but did not have a strong opinion and basically agreed to support whatever th eUSGA and R&A do.

Arnold Palmer said "I just think that there shouldn’t be a place in the game for anchoring a club against the body... I am against it. But would I use it if it were going to enhance my game during competition? I might.”

Tom Watson: "I don't believe this is a stroke of golf, where you can putt (with) a broom handle. And as far as anchoring the putter to the body, I don't think that's a stroke, either. But on the other side of the coin, my son, who couldn't putt a lick with a conventional putter, makes everything with a belly putter, which he anchors right under his belly. So he enjoys the game. I think I would tend to agree with the decision if they outlawed anchoring on the body. I know this is not a stroke of golf. I know that. That is not golf."

Johnny Miller: "The belly and the broomstick are definitely superior methods. When the axis doesn't move, the shaft angle at impact is always exactly where you started at address--which is a huge thing in putting. I think what the belly putter especially will do is lengthen the period of years that your nerves can stand up to the pressure. And I really don't see any reason why a guy can't be phenomenal with that putter."

More recently in a NY Times article, Miller said, "I was glad to be able to be away from the long putter because I had developed just a hint of guilt, maybe, in the back of my mind. The rules are cut-and-dried. It’s legal. But emotionally it may not be so black-and-white ... It was slightly embarrassing for me. I remember going into the officials’ room and showing them my putter and asking, ‘Is this thing legal by you?’"

Johnny Miller was at his best in this transcript of a GolfChannel phone interview [Nov.28.12] with Rich Lerner: "Almost everyone you talk to, I don't want to sound pompous here, really hasn't experience what I've experienced. You can rank the yips 1 through 5. A lot of these kids that are using it even like Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson, I don't think even rank on the 1, and so all these young kids that are using it and copying them don't even have nerve problems so they've ruined it for the guys that are the 1 through 5. Y'know Palmer probably was in the 2 [range], I was in the 3 with Chi-Chi, and Orville Moody was, on a 1 to 5, a 5 for the yips - but few of the guys are closing in on 1's and most of the time they are over 35 years old . Y'know I don't have anything against 'banning it', when you don't, when you're not able to anchor it, if you got the yips, boy, that makes it a lot, lot .. it takes a lot of the goodness away from the long putter. Now I started the Kuchar stroke, I was the first guy to do that ... then Langer won the Masters doing it up at the left arm .. now that is helpful but you can still yip it at the bottom and so that way it's not anchored and I guess that's why the USGA decided to make that change. All in all, y'know it going to make a difference ... but it's not going to make a difference [to] Webb Simpson. If he works at it or Keegan, they are going to putt just fine. They don't have the yips. Tiger Woods has no clue what the yips are about. It's like me telling someone what it's like to be pregnant and bear a baby. He has no clue okay? It's not a nice thing but y'know that's sports ... if you lose your nerve, you're out. It's fine with me. If the USGA wants to go that route, it's fine but I would like them to look at the Champions Tour and the guys over 50 even in the Senior Amateur and give them a chance to use the long putter."

"Well, I just think that amateurs should be able to use [the long putter] also, with the handicap system, once they hit 50. At least that would be a bridge anyway. Because there's a lot of guys that have, yknow, the Orville Moody crazy chipping yips and putting yips. It's a shame because it's no fault of theirs. You can get drunk every night and maybe not have the yips or can be like me and never have a drink in your life and I got the yips. There was was only 3 and a half years of my whole career that I didn't have the yips. An so, y'know, it just one of those things that's just like bad luck. Some guys deserve to get the yips and never do."

You can see Miller's interview here.

Nick Faldo: "It’s called a golf swing, not a golf anchor. The amateurs, for the enjoyment of the game, let them do whatever they like. But for professionals, I think we should start looking at all our rules, or quite a few on the equipment, like the size of the driver face.”

Gary Player has said ""Look at how Tiger Woods plays under pressure. That's what impresses me about Jack Nicklaus and how he played under pressure. And to control your mind and control your nerves, we just continuously make it easier and easier [with the long putters]." Although unsaid, there is a good chance Gary might also think you should have to do 10 push-ups before each putt too.

Gary Player [Nov.28.12 on twitter]: "The R&A and USGA have made the right call on not allowing anchoring whilst still leaving all players to use long putters."

Gary Player [Nov.28.12 on twitter]: "It's time for bifurcation like most other sports. If you think the game is the same for all, just watch Tiger or Rory vrs your club champ."

There are of course other great players who have competed and won at the highest level. Let's first look to Paul Azinger who seems sharp (whether you agree with his politics or not), opinionated and in some sense still has some skin in the game because he is a prominant broadcaster. Azinger appears to be pro-long putter from the quotes and yet there seems to be something couched about his comments still leaving him some wiggle room to say he never specifically said he doesn't think that they should be banned but was merely pointing out the hypocrisy. That said, like Johnny Miller, Azinger seems to be of the era that if he had thse choice of winning a tournament with a long putter or without a long putter, he would prefer the latter.

Azinger saved his best for twitter [Nov.28.12] tweeting, "I haven't played competitive golf in 3yrs My golf ball-obsolete My driver-obsolete My putter-banned My irons-illegal My wedges-illegal." 

Mark O'Meara [SI's golf.com Press Tent]: "I've always felt like it was probably a little bit of an advantage when you can anchor a putter somewhere against your body, so it's almost like a teaching aid, so I don't have a problem with [the ruling]. I think it's probably the right call. But I don't know about [the three-year grace period]. I'd put it in effect right away. If you're going to make a call, let's not go with a 'fiscal cliff' deal. Let's just make the call. Maybe a one-year grace period, but not three years."

Peter Dawson, chief executive office of the R&A, the day after this year's Open Championship said, "The situation is that the R&A and the USGA have this subject firmly back on the radar. We appreciate that there is much speculation about this and that we need to clarify the position as soon as possible."

"Anchoring is what we're looking at. The subject is being looked at more from a rules of golf and method of stroke angle than it is from a length-of-club angle. And the reason for that is that if you thought you were going to do something about long putters by saying the putter may be no more than 40 inches long, that would still allow short people perhaps to belly-putt but not tall people. So limiting the length of club, if you're going to do something about this, is not a very sensible way to go. The rules of golf are changed every four years, and the next quadrennial review is January of 2016, when there will be a new rule book. If that were to happen and we were to announce it in the reasonably near future, I think the amount of notice people would be getting of the change would be perfectly reasonable."

Peter Dawson [Nov.28.12 NYTimes]: "We believe very strongly that the governing bodies have the authority to make these changes. Once we’ve decided we’ve done the right thing, we’re ready to defend it all the way."

Peter Dawson [Nov.28.12 NYTimes]: "We believe we have considered this issue from every angle, but given the wide-ranging interest in this subject, we would like to give stakeholders in the game the opportunity to put forward any new matters for consideration."

Mike Davis [Nov.28.12 NYTimes]: “This is a playing rule,not an equipment rule ... One of the most fundamental things about the game of golf is we believe the player should hold the club away from his body and swing it freely. We think this is integral to the traditions of the game."

Mike Davis [Nov.28.12 AP] on the possibility of the ban decreasing the number of golfers: "We really feel strongly that it’s a false premise. The game has been around for hundreds and hundreds of years. For 570 years, people figured out how to play without anchoring. Now they can’t do without it? ... It’s not, ’How can we make it harder?’ or ’How can we make it easier?’ By doing this, we feel this clarifies the game. This is about the future of the game."

Mike Davis [December 2011 Golf Digest article] was quoted as saying, "It's not that we're scared to do something, we're just being very thoughtful. There's no data to show the nature of the game is being changed at the competitive or recreational levels because of these putters. In a perfect world maybe we wouldn't have anchoring, but it existed in various ways before the long putter, and the game got along fine. I think those who are calling for a ban are being myopic. They forget they weren't talking about this a year ago." We shall see what this thoughfulness brings.

Brandel Chamblee, who was a player and more than just a talking head, has said prior to the proposed ban: "I’m glad Mike Davis is looking at the anchor putter. I am all for two sets of rules for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is eliminating the long putter in the professional ranks."

Chamblee is consistent and said after the ban on the GolfChannel "I think the USGA and the R&A are making a mistake." Chamblee goes on to explain why there should be two sets of rules between pros and amateurs. See the interview here.

Gary Van Sickle [Nov.28.12 Sports Illustrated] clearly thinks the rule is a bad idea.

Jeff Rude in GolfWeek/USA Today is on the record as being pro-long putter on the basis that it makes the game more fun.

Lorne Rubenstein doesn't think the ban will affect the growth in the game. Along with Rubenstein, Bob Weeks of ScoreGolf is one of the voices of golf in Canada is feels the ban was too late and feels it hurts the masses and hurts participation.

Adam Shupak in a very cool piece in GolfWeek quoting Paul Runyon supports the ban. 

Alistair Tait of GolfWeek called it a debacle and that the USGA and R&A look waited to long and now look amutarish with this decision. Fellow GolfWeek writers Jason Lusk (channelling Charlton Heston) and Jeff Babinaeu come down solidly on the side of the long putter and its importance to participation.

In Sports Illustrated's "Tour Confidential" on this issue, Michael Bamberger says: "I think they are making the right move. Yes, they should have done it 20 years ago. Yes, Ernie Els and Co. brought the issue into focus. But it is never too late to do the right thing. The essence of golf is to hit a ball with a club you hold in your hands."

PGA Tour [Nov.28.12]: "While the USGA and The R&A have kept us updated on this proposed rule change, we only recently have been able to review the final language and have not until now had the opportunity to share it with our Policy Board and membership. As with any rule change, we will go through our normal process of evaluating the potential impact this will have to all our constituents. It will be discussed at our next annual player meeting on Jan. 22 in San Diego, and it is anticipated that it will be reviewed by our Policy Board during its March meeting. During this review process, we will provide periodic updates to our stakeholders."

LPGA [Kraig Kann Nov.28.12]: "The LPGA has consistently conducted our official events in accordance with the Rules of Golf as defined by the USGA and the R&A. We certainly respect golf's governing bodies and their long standing desire to protect and promote the best interests of the game. The proposed new Rule 14-1b prohibiting 'anchoring the club' in making a stroke is not yet final and the LPGA will wait with interest while the USGA and R&A consider further comments and suggestions from the golf community.
In the meantime, we will continue to discuss this proposed change with our players and provide our input and thoughts directly to the USGA and R&A."

PGA of America President Ted Bishop [Nov.28.12]: "The PGA has long supported the USGA in its role of establishing the Rules of Golf governing play and equipment. We have representation on the Rules of Golf Committee and we have tremendous respect for the USGA in regard to their critical role in writing and interpreting the Rules of Golf. As our mission is to grow the game, on behalf of our 27,000 men and women PGA Professionals, we are asking them to seriously consider the impact this proposed ban may have on people's enjoyment of the game and the overall growth of the game."

The club manufacturers themselves comment [GolfDigest] here. Comments range from disappointment to PR to pissed.

The biggest name in putter Scotty Cameron said in an intersting interview earlier this week with Rick Young of ScoreGolf said: "We’re here to follow the rules as specified by the USGA and we’ll always be about that. What I will say however is by them not making a call either way it has affected the putter business and, well, I’m in the business of making putters. Hopefully the ruling comes soon and we can move on…whatever decision is made.” One of the more intersting partz of this article by Young is that Cameron himelf uses a belly putter!