Nearly six months after first proposing a change to the Rules of Golf, the sport's governing bodies on Tuesday announced that anchoring the club in making a stroke will be banned, effective Jan. 1, 2016. New Rule 14-1b means that players who use a belly putter or long putter will no longer be able to hold the butt end of the club against their bodies while making a stroke, although the clubs will still be allowed -- provided they are not anchored. Four of the last six major championship winners, including Adam Scott last month at the Masters, used an anchored stroke, with the Australian becoming the first to do so with a long putter. "Rule 14-1b protects one of the important challenges in the game -- the free swing of the entire club," said Glen Nager, president of the USGA, in prepared remarks. "The traditional stroke involves swinging the club with both the club and gripping hands held away from the body, requiring the player to direct and control the movement of the entire club. Source: ESPN
Yay. I always felt like anchoring was unfair because it makes it much easier to have a smooth putting stroke.
