Golfers react to proposed putter ban, fed up with nitpicky rules

Early next year, the USGA will decide to carry out the proposed putter ban they announced last month (or not). Either way, a lot of people aren’t happy with the proposal, how it’s been handled, and what it means to a wonderful game that has seen its numbers of participants and courses dwindle in recent years.

Here’s how some recreational golfers reacted to the news on Facebook:

Cavan Hagerty: Though I have never used an anchored putter, there does not seem to be an advantage in using one. This was the wrong call by the USGA, and now it causes people to second guess people like Ernie Els because he won the British Open with an anchored putter.

Danny Brainard: So let me get this straight. Anchoring a putter is an advantage, but, using 8 men in your gallery to move a boulder so you can hit your shot is NOT an advantage over an opponent who has nobody in his gallery to move that rock?!? No wonder Tiger backs this new rule.

Matthew Finney: As an instructor I do not like this "ban" if you understand how a proper putting stroke works in terms of the movement of the head then you would see their really is no advantage of a "anchored" putter.

Hitoshi Tsuruoka: Why not ban caddies from golf courses? Using them is advantageous to one’s stamina. Please do not restrict fun for Sunday players with idiotic rules change.

Vance Welch: Gimmie my sticks, a ball, and a hole. Low score wins - That's the game. Who cares what the stroke looks like.

Bob Areddy: I don't understand the reason for the exception to anchoring against your forearm. Either way, I don't really care. 99.99% of amateur players don't follow the rules anyway, so this will only affect competitive rounds. I don't think the upper echelons of golf really understand how the weekend golfer plays a casual round of golf.

Thomas Heitman: And I now I am no longer a member of the USGA

Kevin Carson: USGA should be 'For the End of the Game'. If the USGA is worried about players leaving the game, meaningless decisions like this are certainly not going the help.

Rick Lloyd: What a waste of time and effort, why in the world don't you go after the elephant in the room "the ball" and stop making our grand old golf courses obsolete.

Glenn Mincy: I don't like any rules including this one that are implemented just for the sake of what professional golf needs are. They say it is for the long term good of the game, it has nothing to do with the average golfer and only make it more difficult for us.

Mike D. Schaller: If I want to use a belly putter golfing with my buddies on a weekend, I am going to continue. To hell with the USGA.

Scott Cronin: Make the game enjoyable and stop alienating people. 


Douglas Honeyman: If it was a huge advantage, why isn’t the long putter in the winners circle more? Waste of time rule.

Patrick Oropallo: Fine for the best players in the world but why make a difficult game more difficult for the rest of us?

Cyrus Whitney: Chase more people away from golf! USGA learned nothing from groove debacle.

Randy Vickers: Do these people just not have enough to do? Some players have found a technique which improves, (at least in their minds), how they putt. Good for them! USGA needs to stay out of this one. And, no I don't use a long putter.

Ryan Coffey: Wow....how short sighted as an organization can you be? Lets ban lefthanders next, then that guy who plays with two gloves, and then Jim Furyks swing.

Jeff Thompson: What about landing in a divot in the fairway?? How fair is that??? If the ball is in the fairway, there is absolutely no unfair advantage by moving it a club length.

Michael Auerbach: Not cool USGA. Why take something away that makes the game more enjoyable? I for one won't be renewing my membership. Golf is hard enough.

Jamie Hudson: This is a travesty. Thanks for shrinking the game in America even more.

Mike Thompson: Not that you guys care but I along with many others will be dropping my USGA membership due to this rule change.

Peter Butler: The R&A and USGA are dinosaurs. In the face of declining participation and revenues they make it illegal for an amateur to use a method that can make the game more enjoyable.

MiddleBass Guy: Come on, USGA, get out of your self-righteous tower and understand what actual people (i.e. recreational golfers) are doing.

Paul Smith: Won't be renewing my membership. I don't even use a long putter. I like the rule for pros. But let the amateur do whatever he or she likes.

Florida Golf Central Magazine Features Polara Golf in its 2012 Holiday Gift Guide

Is golf overly challenging?

News that the governing bodies of golf are interested in banning anchored putting from the game started a media firestorm last week. CBS Sports ripped the proposal. So did Golf Week. So did our own David Felker, president of Polara.

“Today's USGA and R&A proposed ruling is just another example of how the USGA has lost touch with the majority of golfers and the golf industry itself,” Felker said.

The primary rubbing point is many believe that golf is already challenging enough, if not too much. Lee Trevino thinks so, as does the Wall Street Journal. So do the hundreds of thousands of people who have purchased our anti-slice golf balls.

The way USGA imposes pro rules at all levels of the game is akin to playing softball with MLB rules. Or driveway basketball with NBA ones. Or turkey bowls with NFL rules. You get the idea.

The reason this analogy works is that only 14% of golfers are actually required to play by official USGA rules, whether as professionals, in amateur tournaments, or in club championships. The vast majority of us, over 85% in fact, play golf for recreational reasons. And the vast majority of that 85% play “for fun,” according to a recent Google Survey commissioned by Polara.

So yeah, golf is overly challenging. Not for professionals—they should be held to the strictest rules. But for everyone else? Traditional golf is too rigid, inconvenient, long, and costly for its own good. Which is why millions are abandoning the sport and hundreds of courses are shutting down.

The good news is that golf is changing for the better. With the help of companies like Polara, the game is getting faster, more exciting, less costly, and more inclusive. In addition to our patented balls, we’re working on even more equipment to help you get the most out of the sport.

The reason: Golf is a game. Go have fun.®

New Survey Reveals That Most Golfers Are Bending The Rules

Independent survey conducted by Google Consumer Surveys finds 73% of golfers admit to not following the rules, fewer than 15% keep a handicap, 78% play solely for fun and 63% would consider playing non-conforming equipment in an effort to maximize their enjoyment of the game.

CARLSBAD, CA  – While most of the marketing efforts of the golf industry paint golf as a hallowed, formal and uncontaminated game, where the primary aspiration is to become a PGA Tour player, the reality is quite different. According to a new survey conducted by Google Consumer Surveys, the vast majority of golfers regularly disregard the rules, have no idea what a USGA Handicap is and are increasingly turning to non-conforming equipment in an effort to maximize their enjoyment of the rigorous but popular game.

Based on more than 6,800-screened Internet respondents, here are six key findings:

•An overwhelming majority of golfers admit to bending the official rules of the game; 61% of respondents said they sometimes take mulligans, gimme putts and other popular infractions such as using a “foot wedge.” An additional 12% said they always bend the rules, while 27% claimed to have never broken the rules during play.

•Most golfers aren’t even aware of specific rules. 72% said they have never read the USGA’s Rules of Golf, which dictate standards for professional play, competitive amateur tournaments and club championships.

•The overwhelming majority of golfers are “recreational golfers” and have no desire to follow the same standards as professional golfers. The survey found that fewer than 15% of respondents keep an official USGA handicap, and a similar number are not even sure what a USGA handicap is.

•Most golfers play for fun–78% in fact. Just 22% played golf according to more formal or stringent rules such as the USGA’s Rules of Golf because they play for the challenge, for work or to be an aspiring professional.

•A majority 63% of golfers said they would consider using golf equipment that was banned from professional play but allowed for recreational use. 37% of respondents said they would not consider playing professionally banned equipment.

•One in five Americans has played golf; 21% answered yes or sometimes.

The survey comes as the golf industry faces some interesting challenges. According to the National Golf Foundation (NGF), golf rounds fell from 518 million to 475 million in the past decade and declined for the 5th consecutive year in 2011. The numbers of golfers stood at 26.1 million at the end of 2010, down from 30 million in 2005. Golfers are leaving the game, largely due to inconvenient rules, excessive play times and high costs.

“The results of this Google survey confirm our own statistics,” said Dave Felker, head of technology for Polara Golf. “The majority of golfers are looking for a little help with their game. They’re fine with the idea of playing with recreational golf equipment such as our anti-slice golf balls which remove a lot of frustration and allows them to have more fun on the course.”

Methodology: Conducted by Google Consumer Surveys, November 08-14, 2012 and based on 6,824 screened responses with 95% confidence. Commissioned by Polara Golf Company. Sample: National adult Internet population.

About Polara Golf
Polara Golf is a golf technology company that invents and sells golf equipment that is only limited in its performance by the laws of physics. Polara Golf’s mission is “To make the game of golf more fun”.  All of the Polara golf balls are designed for use by recreational golfers who want to take advantage of technology improvements designed to help them score lower and more enjoy the game more.

For more information about Polara Golf, visit our website or call 866-556-3100.

Media members interested in field testing any of the Polara Golf products for an editorial review should contact Joe Wieczorek of The Media Group at (847) 956-9090.

Survey conducted on: December 3, 2012