Four-time Major winning Ernie Els has advised the PGA Tour ‘to play ball’ and accept the decision by golf’s ruling bodies to ban anchoring of the belly and long-handled putter from 1st January, 2016.
The PGA Tour had disagreed with the proposal ahead of yesterday’s (TUES) historic decision but then later issued a statement indicating: “We will now begin our process to ascertain whether the various provisions of Rule 14-1b will be implemented in our competitions and, if so, examine the process for implementation.”
Els captured a second Open Championship last year using the belly putter and is among four players in the past six Majors since Keegan Bradley’s 2011 PGA Championship victory to have won at golf’s highest level using either a belly or long-handled putter.
“Ironically, I was seated at the same table at Peter Dawson last night, and I felt the decision to ban anchoring was going to happen, and I felt that there was a lot said in the three month discussion period up to yesterday by everybody, so with everything said they’ve (ruling bodies) made the decision and you have to go with the ruling bodies,” said Els.
“They are looking out for the best interests of the game in the long run.
“The argument forever will be they could have done it 25 or 30 years ago, so why now?
“But it was it is and we are where we are, and they have made a decision so I think we are going to have to play ball.”
And when quizzed does that mean the PGA Tour ‘should play ball’ Els responded: “I think so. I’ve been using a belly putter for over a year now and I’ve won a Major with it and it’s taken me a lot of time to get used to it like other players.
“There has been some players using it for some 18 to 20 years, and a lot of these players are competing on the PGA Tour, and there is guys who have Majors including myself, who are playing the PGA Tour.
“It’s unlike the ruling a while back about golf ball where you could use the smaller golf ball over here in Europe and you use the bigger golf all in the US.
“So to make the switch in putters is a tough one in that you can’t play the Open Championship using only the short putter but you can play the PGA Tour using the belly or long-handled putter.
“But I don’t want to speak for the PGA Tour right now or speak to Tim Finchem (Commissioner, PGA Tour) or the Players Advisory Board but they are probably going to have to play ball.
“Then I don’t know what the other guys are going to do as it’s a huge issue this, and you are talking about a guy’s livelihood.
“So we are going to have to wait to see what the individuals do but the PGA Tour will need to play ball.”
Els has won 67 tournaments around the globe in his long professional career and just one using a belly putter – the 2012 Open Championship.
And in a frank admission the South African confessed he would not have won a fourth Major last July at Royal Lytham and St. Annes using a standard size putter.
“No I don’t so I would have and I’ve thought about that because I have been in such a state on the greens, and while I am a lot better now it was more a psychological thing for me and then devoting myself to the long putter,” he said.
“I wasn’t even putting that great at The Open, maybe in the bottom 10 on the putting stats at Lytham, so I don’t think I could have won The Open using a shorter putter.
“I’m in a much better play now and I feel that I can get back into using the shorter putter in the near future.
“So, in three year’s time for me to get back into using the short putter but the Tour’s might want to bring the change forward and that might put pressure on those players to get used to a new form of putting.
“So 2016 is fair if you want to look at it that way and that gives the guy two-and-a-half years to get used to a new method of putting, and that’s a good period of time.”
