Golf doesn’t need a “contraption” like the anchored putting stroke and the sport’s success requires everyone to play by the same rules, Arnold Palmer said at his US PGA Tour event on Wednesday.
Palmer said he supported the proposed rule that would outlaw attaching the club against the body, which is the method used for long putters and belly putters.
“That’s not part of the game of golf. To attach it to your body in any way is taking a little bit away from the game,” Palmer said. “I’m not going to argue with anybody about it. I’ve stated my position, and that is we do not need a contraption to play the game of golf.
“I would hope that we’d play under one set of rules, and those rules would include a ban on the long putter hooked to the body in some way, shape or form.”
The US Golf Association and Royal & Ancient Golf Club proposed a new rule to ban such a stroke. The US PGA Tour and PGA of America have said they oppose the ban, with tour commissioner Tim Finchem saying there is no data to prove there is a competitive advantage to using the anchored stroke.
Finchem has said he could see a place for different rules in tournament golf and recreational play. PGA of America president Ted Bishop has been more forceful, saying in a recent blog that “bifurcation seems destined” if the rule takes effect in 2016.
The possibility of two sets of rules seemed to agitate Palmer, who helped golf become popular with the masses half a century ago when he won the US Amateur, US Open and the British Open.
“I don’t think that golf has a place for two sets of rules,” Palmer said. “I think one of the reasons that the game has progressed in the way that it has over the years is the fact that the amateurs and the pros all play the same game and they play under the same set of rules. I feel like that is very, very important. It may be the key to the future success of the game of golf, just the fact that there will be one set of rules and we’ll all play by them.”
Palmer was less serious when it came to Rory McIlroy, who decided not to play the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Bay Hill has the strongest field of the year so far among regular US PGA Tour events, though it is missing the No.1 player. Palmer had jokingly said that he would break Boy Wonder’s arm if he didn’t play, and then clarified on Wednesday it was only a passing comment.