Will the legal fight for Long Putters succeed?
It seems that Keegan Bradley, Ernie Els and Co are serious about fighting a legal battle for a possible ban against long putters. They certainly have the time and money on their side, as a proposed ban would only take effect from the 2016 season.
Bradley and Ernie, along with the rest of the players, are rich enough to hire a high profile firm to fight the case for them. However, the question is, do they have the case for it as well?
It is almost certain that the authorities will prohibit the use of anchorship in golf. This does not mean that they are banning long putters at all. What they mean by that is that anchoring a golf club will be considered as foul play.
However, the worrying thing for Bradley and Co is that the long putters work on the principle of anchorship. This means that the long putters will automatically be banned.
It is a fact that anchorship does help in making a stroke, as it gives more stability. With the help of anchoring, a player develops artificial stability, which some might say comes under the banner of cheating.
Keegan was the first to float the idea of a legal action against the ban of long putters. He was the first player to win a major using the long putter and he is in touch with all the other players using the long putter.
Bradley said, "I'm going to do whatever it takes to protect myself and the guys on tour, whatever that is".
"I think we all would be together on this. We're all in the same boat. A lot of us feel strongly about the hours of practice we've put in that they're saying is basically for nothing now".
He added, "I just think they'd be taking away hours and hours of my practice and guys other than me that have used it. And I think that would be a shame".
The vast majority of the players and the authorities are against the use of anchorship.
Meanwhile, three of the last five major winners played with long putters. This gives a comprehensive idea as to how helpful they are in making strokes.
If anchorship is banned, then the definition of the stroke will change itself, as the long putters will no longer be allowed to balance with the help of their body.
The case for a ban against anchoring the long putter is quite weak but one never knows what happens.
However, it is said that majority is the authority, and the fact is that many of the authorities are against its use.
Tags: