The PGA Tour's plan to ban anchor putters seemed set two months ago, but after PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem came out and spoke against it on Sunday, the argument appears to need further debate.
According to the Associated Press, Finchem said on Sunday that the outlaw ban would be opposed because he said there was not enough evidence that proves the anchor putter gives golfers and unfair advantage.
"We hold the USGA in highest regard as a key part of the game of golf," Finchem said to the Associated Press. "We don't attempt to denigrate that position in any way whatsoever. It's just on this issue, we think if they were to move forward they would be making a mistake."
The U.S. Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club originally made an announcement about the anchor putters in November banning players from anchoring the club to their body, which is how players use the belly putters and broom-handled putters on the course. The reports says that three of the last five major champions have used a belly putter.
The rule would not take effect until 2016 and the group is currently getting to the end of a 90-day comment period about the ban before making a final decision. The PGA of America also opposes the ban and Finchem has been meeting with players over te past few months to gauge how they feel about it.
"I think the essential thread that went through the thinking of the players ... was that in the absence of data or any basis to conclude that there is a competitive advantage to be gained by using anchoring, and given the amount of time that anchoring has been in the game, that there is no overriding reason to go down that road," Finchem said.
The putters have been used for years, but the issue did not come to the forefront until the ban came forward. Finchem said that he did not think anchoring should be one of the new rules proposed and that several players made it known they would oppose the ban.
He added that the data did not prove effectively that the anchoring gives players an advantage and the ban would hurt players like Keegan Bradley and many others.
"I think we could understand it if for some reason or another ... it had negative results for the game of golf," Finchem said. "We have to look at it from the standpoint of is it good, bad or indifferent for the game as a whole -- professional level, amateur level -- and we conclude that it's not (a bad thing)."
