The No. 2 Top Golf Story of 2012 was the joint announcement by the USGA and The R&A to propose a rule change to the official rules of golf that would ban the use of the “anchored stroke”.

2012 Top Golf Stories Nos. 3-10 can be viewed at: http://edraft.com/golf/news/

This announcement made at the end of November had been anticipated since earlier in the year.  The USGA and The R&A had been holding discussions on the subject of anchored putters over the summer.

The official wording of the proposed rule change would read as follows:

14-1b Anchoring the Club
In making a stroke, the player must not anchor the club, either “directly” or by use of an “anchor point.”
Note 1:  The club is anchored “directly” when the player intentionally holds the club or a gripping hand in contact with any part of his body, except that the player may hold the club or a gripping hand against a hand or forearm.
Note 2:  An “anchor point” exists when the player intentionally holds a forearm in contact with any part of his body to establish a gripping hand as a stable point around which the other hand may swing the club.
The final decision will be made on this proposal early in 2013 and if adopted would go into effect January 1, 2016.

Several factors prompted the ruling bodies of golf to take such a drastic action.

Three of the last five major tournaments have been won by players using an anchored putting stroke.  Keegan Bradley won the 2011 PGA Championship.  Webb Simpson won the U.S. Open and Ernie Els won the Open Championship this year.  Adam Scott was runner-up to Els using a long putter anchored to his chest.

Bradley and Simpson have used the belly putters for several years and would be forced to switch to a more conventional putting stroke.  Els switched to the belly putter after experiencing putting problems and it completely changed his game for the better resulting in winning a major at the age of 42.  Scott too had floundered on the greens until he adopted the long putter.

The USGA and The R&A were seeing a drastic increase in the percentage of players that were using the anchored stroke in their sanctioned tournaments.

They were also seeing golf instructors teaching young players the anchored style of putting.  This would breed a whole new generation of golfers that would include this perceived breach to the general spirit of the game into their golf games.

The “Keepers of Golf” believe that golf should be played with a free swinging stroke.  That includes putting.  Anchoring the putter at any point on the body would violate the free swinging concept and thus be an illegal stroke.

This announcement set of a firestorm throughout the golf kingdom.  Golfers that do not use the anchored style applaud the ruling bodies for making the rule change.

Players that have used the anchored stroke for several years feel that this rule change is completely unjustified and feel that the horse is already out of the barn.  Why are the USGA and The R&A trying to change something that has been considered legal for over 30 years?

There is no end in sight that can appease both sides of the issue.  This story dominated the golf world in December and will continue to fill up print in 2013.