Being as influential on the game as he is, Tiger Woods has come out in support that long putters should banned from tournament play, and he even has a viable solution for it too.
"I've never been a fan if it," Woods said at a press conference during the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. "I believe it's the art of controlling the body and club and swinging the pendulum motion. I believe that's how it should be played. I'm traditionalist when it comes to that."
Woods said he has spoken to Royal & Ancient chief executive Peter Dawson several times over the last few years, asking him to ban the long putter, and last week he offered a guideline for the rule, saying, "My idea was to have it so that the putter would be equal to or less than the shortest club in the bag. I think that would be able to get away from any type of belly anchoring.
"I think you can get away from the belly or the long putter by that type of wording, whether or not they do it or not. Peter's looked into it for a number of years, trying to get it to work, and you [would] actually measure everybody's sand wedge and putter before you go out and play."
The belly putter has seen quite a bit of success last season, with Keegan Bradley becoming the first Major winner to use the long stick, while FedEx Cup champion Bill Haas and multiple winner Webb Simpson both used belly putters in their most successful seasons to date. These results have shown that the long putter is no longer a solution for players struggling on the greens, but rather an effective weapon.
However, Woods, the former world No 1 is not of the same opinion as those currently using one, and his words last week came amid signs the long putter may become the target of the game's governing bodies. Let's see how this issue pans out throughout this year.
Do you think long putters should be banned?
