‘It’s causing ire between players!’ DP World Tour star calls for controversial rules to be changed
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The long-putter debate is once again revving up, and this time Eddie Pepperell says it’s time the authorities did something about it…
Eddie Pepperell says the “governing bodies really need to address” the ongoing debate about long putters.
The last time the sport’s ruling bodies did anything about it, in 2016, they outlawed the anchoring of the putter against the body, but not the putter itself.
Since then, Rule 10.1b states that: “In making a stroke, the player must not anchor the club, either directly or indirectly.”
The most common problem with this is, when a player is hunched over ready to make their putt, it’s almost impossible to tell if the putter is touching their clothing, their body, or nothing at all.
This has led to a decade of debate and suspicion, and it’s been quite the topic among grassroots and tour players alike. This year alone there have been a number of high-profile instances where long putters have caused tension between two players – none more so than when Collin Morikawa and Lucas Glover traded insults in February.
After the 2009 US Open champ had hit out at players using AimPoint on his PGA Tour Radio show, Morikawa’s response was to throw shade at a questionable method used by Glover.
“If we’re banning AimPoint, I think we should ban long putters as well,” he quipped.
On his podcast, The Chipping Forecast, DP World Tour winner Pepperell was discussing another debate that divides golfers around the world – playing out of fairway divots – when he was reminded of a recent conversation with a fellow pro.
“One thing that another player brought to my attention is this anchoring issue and the long putters,” he explained. “And they absolutely have to look at this.
“I’m not going to say who it was, but he was adamant that his playing partner was anchoring at the weekend.”
He then turned his attention to the recent Italian Open, which was won by Adrien Saddier. The Frenchman doesn’t use a long putter, instead preferring a mid-length ‘armlock’ style, but Pepperell was shocked by how many players in the field opted for the frowned-upon model.
“There were so many guys anchoring,” he said, before correcting himself. “Not anchoring, but using the long putters.
“They’ve got to look at it, because not only is it a gray area – from my personal preference, they should just make the putter the shortest club in the bag and it would solve all these issues – but it’s now causing some ire between players.
“And it’s beginning to have that impact where players are now looking at others [with suspicion] and that’s not good.
“The governing bodies really need to address it.”
High profile players who use a long putter include Glover, Adam Scott, Bernhard Langer and Akshay Bhatia.
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Eddie Pepperell says the long putter, like those used by Adam Scott among other top tour pros, should be banned.
