PGA Tour Upholds Ban on Anchor Putting

In a move that surprises virtually no one in the golf community, the PGA Tour has elected to go along with the USGA and R&A in banning the use of anchor putting starting on January 1st, 2016.

The announcement by the two governing bodies came in late May, but the PGA Tour’s announcement to actually implement the ban did not come along until Monday when commissioner Tim Finchem released this statement:

"“In making its decision, the Policy Board recognized that there are still varying opinions among our membership, but ultimately concluded that while it is an important issue, a ban on anchored strokes would not fundamentally affect a strong presentation of our competitions or the overall success of the PGA Tour. The Board also was of the opinion that having a single set of rules on acceptable strokes applicable to all professional competitions worldwide was desirable and would avoid confusion.”"

In short, the Tour had voiced its displeasure with the ruling in February, but in order to maintain the stability and balance between the organizations, they’ve elected to go along with the move. Additionally, Finchem discussed extending the ban date further out for amateur events, in order to give the general public time to adjust.

There are numerous PGA players that currently use the “anchor putter”, and they certainly can’t be pleased today. Adam Scott, this year’s Masters champion, is chief among them, but he is also joined by Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson, and many others in having to amend their playing style in fairly short order.

The best part about the PGA Tour’s willingness to amend the rule is the lack of confusion both for players and fans. If they had elected to “fight” the ruling, it would’ve made for an ugly spot where certain events were playing by different rules, and players who used the putting system would have been more marginalized. In the end, what’s done is done, and now we we wait to see the affect that the ruling will half in 30 months.