NEWS

Prominent golf organizations issue statements on proposed USGA-R&A anchoring ban

By PGA.com
Published on

The leaders of many of golf's most prominent organizations have reacted to the proposed ban on anchoring strokes unveiled Wednesday by the USGA and R&A. Here is a sample of their statements:

PGA of America President Ted Bishop:
"The PGA has long supported the USGA in its role of establishing the Rules of Golf governing play and equipment. We have representation on the Rules of Golf Committee and we have tremendous respect for the USGA in regard to their critical role in writing and interpreting the Rules of Golf.  As our mission is to grow the game, on behalf of our 27,000 men and women PGA Professionals, we are asking them to seriously consider the impact this proposed ban may have on people's enjoyment of the game and the overall growth of the game."

The PGA of America also surveyed its members:
A PGA of America survey, conducted in November among the Association's 27,000 members, resulted in 4,228 PGA Professionals responding, representing nearly 16 percent of the total membership. The survey revealed that nearly two-thirds of the respondents oppose a change in the Rules of Golf that would ban the anchoring of any golf club.

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem:
"We did give the USGA our position -  our board and player advisory council concluded that we should be opposed to it (proposed ban), which we articulated. We're very supportive of the USGA. We hold it in high regard. We were asked our opinion and we feel strongly that going down that road would be a mistake.

"If there's one thing that would prevail across a lot of our players and a lot of our board members is that it's been around for a generation and the game of golf has done quite well. Unless you have a compelling reason to change we shouldn't. And the USGA has indicated there's no performance advantage to using anchoring . . . What the data shows is there isn't an anchoring putter on the PGA Tour that's in the top quartile in the putting stats."


LPGA Tour Chief Communications Officer Kraig Kann:
"The LPGA has consistently conducted our official events in accordance with the Rules of Golf as defined by the USGA and the R&A.  We certainly respect golf’s governing bodies and their long standing desire to protect and promote the best interests of the game. The proposed new Rule 14-1b prohibiting ‘anchoring the club’ in making a stroke is not yet final and the LPGA will wait with interest while the USGA and R&A consider further comments and suggestions from the golf community. In the meantime, we will continue to discuss this proposed change with our players and provide our input and thoughts directly to the USGA and R&A."