Does the USGA Have Authority Over Your Game? - Comments Roundup

We asked, you answered. We compiled all of the USGA authority comments from our last email and here are some great comments. Some will definitely even get you thinking about your own golf game.

The USGA has no authority over my game.  I view the organization as obsolete and irrelevant.  What other sport has a full-time entity making "rules" without any other real responsibility? Golf has been around for hundreds of years and all the rules that are needed have been in place for decades.  Sensing their irrelevance and trying to re-establish some semblance of authority is why I think the USGA and R&A fight unnecessary battles over anchored putters, equipment, balls, etc.  It's more about power than anything else. It seems as if the USGA and R&A are focused on the pro game and don't give a damn about the 99.9 percent of the rest of us.  We would all be better off if the Tour developed rules for those who play the game professionally and the PGA of America developed rules for competitive amateurs and another for recreational amateurs and the USGA and R&A went away.
- Paul S.

I’m a 100% recreational player.  I use Polara Golf balls, belly putters, and F2 wedges, all non-confirming equipment as far as the USGA is concerned and so do my playing buddies. We all love the game and all shoot in the 100’s, even with the “illegal” equipment.   If the USGA makes us stop, our play will be even slower and make life miserable for the groups behind us and the Marshalls at the courses.  Allow the pro’s to use conforming equipment and allow us to continue to fellowship on Saturday’s and enjoy the game.
-Chris B.

USGA? Telling me what to do on the public links? You’re kidding right? My question is with all the improvements in the equipment, the hot golf balls, titanium drivers, that afford these guys the ability to it 295 yard three woods, why are the Polara balls outlawed?  Perhaps because Titleist pays off the USGA?
-TP

If the USGA wants to make me go back to slicing then maybe they would like to help me find my drive. It will be in the forest on the right. Nah, I'll just stick to playing Polaras! I really like hitting my second shot off the fairway!
-Bob H.

What's the USGA? They've never been in my game.
-Michael E.

Heck- I don't even have authority over my game!!
-Panda Bear

USGA only has Authority over my game if I am a conscientious golfer and follow all the rules.  That’s what makes the game challenging.  But mulligans and gimmies are still fun for recreational golfers.
-Bob G.

Because I play recreationally, the USGA has no authority over my game.  I carry a second bag with just water balls.  I use "illegal" clubs and probably don't dress correctly either.  Life is good.
-Elizabeth B.

No!!!!!  As a senior citizen who enjoys fun golf and plays within the general guidelines of the USGA rules, as do most of the people I play with do, golf is great exercise, fun, provides fellowship with fellow players and challenges to one self. Using equipment that helps me to enjoy the game seems OK to me. The USGA is the biggest reason golf equipment is so expensive due to their approval requirements. Hell, pro golfers are overpaid prima donnas just as, but not as bad as, pro basketball players, football players, tennis, baseball and so on. USGA rules regarding what pro golfer can use as equipment and guidelines for play is OK.  I am not a pro and just enjoy the game using the equipment that helps my game and I can afford.
-FP

False!  The USGA has no authority over MY golf game.  "Authority" insinuates that some enforcement power exists.  As a purely recreational player who doesn't even keep score, I am totally immune from any sanction the USGA might dream up - if they gave a damn.  Add me to the 85%!  Thanks for the opportunity to insert my 5 cents.
-Norman J.

As far as I'm concerned they can take their ridiculous rules and shove them where the sun does not shine.
-Robert S.

The USGA has nothing to do with my golf game. I play for fun and the Polara Golf extra straight balls have made my outings enjoyable again.  Before I tried these balls my slice was so bad that I almost hated to play. This year on my first time out, I hit 13 out of 18 fairways.  No lie!! I lost one ball, but it was because I didn't quite make my long drive over a lake on 18.  Golf is fun for me again and I'll never use another ball. Period!!
-Tony P

I have purchased your golf balls and see no reason why they should not be used by the recreational golfer to further his experience of being able to play from the middle more often. For this I thank you as it has made my golf experience much more enjoyable. 
-Bruce H.

As soon as they start paying for my game, they can have complete authority over it.
– Vince S.

I think the USGA is off the page with the putter ruling. They need to focus on club improvements off of the green that have rendered many golf courses obsolete. Technology has by far surpassed golf course design and redesigning existing golf courses for longer play has only hurt clubs & club members monetarily. I’m surprised the USGA has such a small focus on the game, they need to be looking at the drivers that produce the 350+ yard drives, fairway rescue clubs that hit balls 250+. Granted the club & ball improvements have enhanced the Joe Average players game but has taken the Pro to a level that most courses cannot support. Leave the putter alone, it's only another tool in their arsenal of goodies.
-Steve J.

If they really wanted to make it a level playing field, they would make everyone play with the same clubs, the same golf balls, and the same tees.  If it can be purchased by anyone, how can it be an unfair advantage?  It’s not like the olympic swim suits that some said gave the western nations an advantage because it reduced drag and not everyone could acquire one.
-RS

I think this rule is stupid theoretically speaking a belly or "long putter" gives you no statistical advantage, because if you look at the past major winners only 4 have been won with a belly putter. The USGA banning the anchored putter is stupid on so many levels because of the people it will affect. Being as I have experimented with a long putter that has helped me with my stroke going back to a shorter putter, I’d say the USGA is just trying to keep people happy instead of doing what is right for the game of golf.
-Jason C.

You might be a recreational golfer if.....

You drink more beers than pars or bogeys. - The Art and Science of Breaking 90

You have 10 range balls and use them all on your big Bertha driver. - Scott Conwell

You have iron covers!! - Kip Bilo

You mention "snowmen" in July. - Kevin Loveridge

Your score equals a 10 times table. - Gord Condie

You write down what score you think you should have. - Keith Martinson
 
You take a mulligan on every hole. -Chris Knox

You spend more time looking for balls than hitting them. - Chaz Shugars
 
You consider losing only one box of balls a good round. - Dan Patrick
 
You don't have a tour card. - Timmy Denny

You find a ball plugged in a hole and think it’s a pot of gold! Extra ball! -Jack Ashurst

You spend more than you make. -Sean Giles

The eraser on your pencil is smaller than the point. -Panda Bear

You don’t even think about NOT taking a free drop on a plugged ball! -Adam Manika

You improve the lie - Gary Plunk 

You think a plugged ball is normal! - Jack Gamble

You think a plugged ball is not only 'normal' ... but you're excited that you've actually FOUND your ball at all! - BallTalk Golf Balls and Gifts

You find your ball and take a picture, instead of just taking a free drop and playing on. - Froggie-Sharon Brady-Shimp

Unlike the Pro's, you can't afford to damage yourself or your clubs, for that reason you move the plugged ball. - Gary Owens

You play with 3 buddies, all with 22 handicap and you never win a bet. - Manus O'Donnell


To submit your own comment - email us at opinions@polaragolf.com

For the Good of Whose Game?

The golf world is abuzz with the aftermath of the Anchor Ban 2016. With this great debate, comes those that are actually most affected by this - the PROS. The USGA's tagline is, For the Good of the Game. I can't help but wonder, for the good of whose game?

(Article from BleacherReport.com, written by Michael Fitzpatrick on May 28, 2013)

A group of nine golfers, including Tim Clark, Masters champion Adam Scott and Carl Pettersson, have joined together to begin exploring legal options against the USGA, R&A and potentially the PGA Tour, depending upon whether the tour decides to go along with the USGA and R&A or bifurcate for the first time in modern history.

“We do have legal counsel,” Tim Clark said, according to Golfweek. “We’re going to explore our options. We’re not going to just roll over and accept this.”

Clark and the others will be represented by Boston-based attorney Harry Manion, who specializes in complex civil and white collar criminal litigation throughout the United States. Manion currently represents several professional athletes, owners of professional sports teams and numerous CEOs and board chairmen.

This group of nine, with the help of Manion, will likely fight this anchored putting ban tooth and nail in the coming years.

It’s also possible, if enough members of the PGA Tour are adamantly against banning anchored putting strokes, that the PGA Tour could bifurcate and continue to allow anchored putting strokes at Tour events.

However, no matter how hard the group of nine and the PGA Tour resist the implementation of rule 14-1b over the coming weeks, months and years, this battle is essentially over.

Outside of the players, bifurcation could also unleash a PR nightmare for the PGA Tour. The PGA Tour would be the only major professional golf tour to allow anchored putting strokes, which would beg the question: Does the PGA Tour contain players who can only perform at a high level through the use of anchored putters, while the rest of the golf world has gone on and implemented rule 14-1b? 

Is the PGA Tour more concerned with protecting a few of their younger stars than doing what is in the best interest of the game by continuing to play under one set of rules?

Should the PGA Tour decide to bifurcate, the backlash could be considerable against not only the players but also the tour itself.

In the grand scheme of things, players' legal action and the PGA Tour deciding whether to bifurcate will have very little impact on the end result.

The R&A and USGA have officially changed the Rules of Golf or really just further defined what a “stroke” is within the Rules of Golf, and this rule in here to stay.

Should the PGA Tour decide to bifurcate, you may see a very small percentage of players throw away the majors and decide to use an anchored putting stroke anyway, and you may see this go on for five or even 10 years.

But between 75 percent of the majors banning anchored putting strokes, virtually every professional golf organization around the world also banning putting anchored putting strokes and anchored putting strokes completely banned from the amateur game, in the next 10 to 15 years, anchored putting will be a thing of the past, whether the PGA Tour decides to bifurcate or not.

It is easy to understand why players such as Clark, Pettersson and Scott are so concerned with rule 14-1b, as it could potentially impact their ability to perform on the PGA Tour and earn the type of living they have become accustomed to over the years.

Not to sound overly harsh, but that’s life.

This is by no means the first, nor will it be the last, time that golf’s main governing bodies—the USGA and the R&A—have modified the Rules of Golf based on what they feel is in the best interest of the game.


Read entire article online: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1653853-why-the-anchored-putting-ban-is-essentially-a-done-deal

Anchoring: Reaction from the world of golf

 As the USGA and R&A announces their ban on belly putters, the world reacts, and in what seems, in the opposition. The Golfweek Staff compiled comments from all over the golf industry. We compiled some of our own through social media. All in all, some great comments that I hope the USGA will listen to. And even if they don't, we are still going to play golf the way we want to play.

How does this affect your game? Email us at opinions@polaragolf.com

Compiled from Golfweek.com 

Bernhard Langer, two-time Masters winner and current Champions Tour player who has used a long putter since the mid-1990s
It's disappointing . . . very disappointing. It's the same thing I've said for months: I don't know why they couldn't come to the same conclusion 40 years ago that they did today. Why does it take 40 years? Just because we have major winners, that's what it comes down to.

Tim Mickelson, coach, Arizona State University
Sad day for the growth of golf. No matter where you stand on the ban, this doesn't help grow the game.

John Daly, PGA Tour player
NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL....all professional organizations create their rules, PGA should also create rules as professionals in our organization

David Feherty, broadcaster and former player
Horrible decision. Professional golfers need to make the rules for professional golf. Not rocket science.

Butch Harmon, Teaching Professional
Pro golf is the only sport in the U.S. that has an amateur body making its rules. Time to change

Bob Philion, President, Cobra Puma Golf
Golf lost today. This is not the direction we should be going, it will only continue to alienate people from golf. Cobra Puma Golf has been stressing the importance of game enjoyment since we formed in 2010; game enjoyment is how we are going to bring people back to golf. This decision is a giant leap back on that front. With this decision, bifurcation needs to be front and center in golf's conversations and we should be focusing on adapting the rules and the game to be inclusive and fun.

Nike Golf
In cases like this, the USGA and R&A's decision to redefine the Rules on a product that has already legitimately been in play for many years has an impact on both manufacturers and golfers. Despite this, Nike always manages to adapt to the changes and deliver innovative products within the redefined Rules. The USGA and the R&A have the right to make these changes for competitive play. Beyond this decision, we believe that the best interests of the sport of golf are better served by focusing on providing experiences that inspire golfers to play more; developing products that help them to perform better; and better connecting to the golfer in a world where alternative recreational choices are increasing.

TaylorMade Golf
We appreciate the process the USGA used in its decision to ban the anchoring of putters, but we don’t agree the decision is in the best interest of the game.

(read full article: http://golfweek.com/news/2013/may/21/anchoring-ban-reaction-to-decision/?Ref=1)

Compiled from Polara Golf - found through social media outlets:

geddylee
I take at least one mulligan every hole. Are they going to start banning that?

ChiefIlliniwek4Life
They should ban alcohol at golf courses. It provides an advantage. See, if you suck, and you can drink, you don't think about how much you suck as much.

mlbogey75
I play the course, not the other golfer. I don't care if they anchor a shovel and putt with that...

Parkerusa
This is utterly silly. Rules and equipment change all the time in sports. It's part of the game varying as time passes. You might as well say that football records are unfair now because of rules protecting the QB's and WR's. But you wouldn't do that, obviously.

hansgruber87.75
Pace of play, please fix that.

ProbsGolfing ‏@ProbsGolfing The only anchoring my putter is going to be doing is at the bottom of the pond on 5. #PGA #USGA

Alex Everhart ‏@EverhartAlex Can't wait for the new "LEGALIZE IT" shirts to hit the market! Only these will sport a picture of a belly putter. #USGA #AnchorBan

Bill Schmedes 3, PGA ‏@BS3 Golf Good job growing the game #usga not only does this affect tour players but more importantly the average golfer! #brilliantwork

Riley Johnson ‏@rileyjohn Let the boys play #Stupid #LetThemAnchor #BellyPutters

Steel Van Veen ‏@steelmtg Anchoring ban is a crock. Were trying to grow this game, not make it harder. A MUCH larger issue is slow play. @GolfChannel #anchorban

Eric Ortiz ‏@ericortease The #anchorban is ridiculous very few guys even putt like that. I say you ban clothes like Rickie Fowlers on the course first

Scott Johnson ‏@scottiej70 Speed of play, growing the game & cost to play golf much larger issues than #anchorban #USGA