There are hundreds of variations of putters out there, but there are three basic types when it comes to putter length: the conventional, belly and long putters.

What putter length is best for you? The easiest answer is that it’s completely a matter of personal preference. If you’re thinking of going away from a conventional putter to a belly or long putter, you simply need to get on a putting green and see which putter length feels best and produces the best results.

Each type does have qualities, however, that might narrow the choices. And we’ll take a look at those now:

Conventional Putter
Teaching pros are nearly unanimous: If you can use a conventional putter, then you should use a conventional putter. And a short one at that.

To achieve the ideal putting posture, take your stance and lean forward so that your eyes are directly over the line of the putt. Let your arms hang loosely down, then bring your palms together. Voila – your ideal putting posture.

Obviously, you can’t take that posture unless your putter length is a conventional one.

So why do some pros (and more amateurs) go to the belly or long putters? Conventional putters require nerves of steel and an absolute minimum of wrist action. Poor putting nerves are often call the “yips”; those with excess wrist action are said to be “handsy.”

If you suffer from the yips or are too handsy in your putting, then trying a belly or long putter could be for you.

Michael Lamanna, director of instruction at San Antonio’s Westin La Cantera Resort, says of the conventional putter, “It allows for the perfect blend of feel and mechanical precision. The problem for poor putters is that it allows some wrist action to occur.”

The Belly Putter
The belly putter provides a third point of contact – the abdomen (along with each hand) – between the putter and the player, which provides stability and balance to the stroke.

The main advantages of this putter length are that the putter is anchored against the body, and wrist action is easier to control, while the player remains in a posture that is close to the ideal.

However, since belly putters are longer and generally have a thicker grip, feel is reduced. Distance control is dicier as well due to the longer shaft.

The Long Putter
The long putter turns the putting stroke into a true pendulum swing, totally eliminating wrist hinge. Golfers take an upright stance, so those who suffer from weak or aching backs get a bit of a break.

But the long putter is even longer than the belly putter (it ain’t called the “long putter” – or “broomstick putter” – for nothing!), and that means even less feel and feedback. It also means that controlling distance becomes a bit more problematic.

But it does have the advantage of taking wrist action out of play. As Lamanna says, “This is usually the last hope for a bad putter. If this one does not cure the yips, you have to take up tennis!”

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Here’s a leading question that I would like you to think about;

Have you ever been guilty of any of the following actions on the golf course, without declaring a penalty on yourself?

*Moved a ball while searching for it in the rough?

*Touched a ball in play, perhaps to identify it, without marking it first and asking a fellow competitor to witness the lift?

*Finished out a hole with a ball that you are not absolutely certain was the one that you were playing with?

*Discontinued play during a competition while a heavy rain shower passes over?

*Given advice to a fellow competitor on his grip, swing or which option to take, during a round?

*Moved your ball fractionally while removing a leaf, twig or stone that was lying close to your ball?

*Played a ball from the fairway, or on the putting green, that moved just as you were starting your downstroke?

*Improved your intended area of swing by knocking down a small branch of an overhanging tree with a practice swing?

*Placed a ball when preferred lies are in operation and then placed it again because it rolled of the original spot?

*Moved something growing (e.g. a bramble), thinking that it was a loose impediment?

Well, all of the above instances do incur a penalty under the Rules of Golf. I strongly suspect that there are very few of us that can honestly answer that we have always penalised ourselves in these situations. So, under what circumstance do you call a penalty on yourself and when do you ignore it, because it does not seem to be relevant? Here are a few sample situations to consider;

*You are playing a practice round on your own.

*You are playing casual golf with friends and there are no bets on the result.

*You are playing casual golf with friends and the loser has to buy the lunches.

*You are playing winter golf at your Club in a non-counting sweep of 20 players.

*You are playing in your Club’s monthly medal.

*You are playing in your Club’s Captain’s prize.

*You are playing in an Open competition at a neighbouring Club.

*You are representing your Club at provincial level with a referee monitoring the game.

*You are playing in a qualifying round of The Open Championship.

*You are playing in a match and your opponent did not witness your breach.

You may have guessed by now that it is my contention that it does not matter which of the above situations apply, players must be totally honest to themselves, their fellow competitors, or their opponents. Whatever game you play there has to be rules. There is no personal satisfaction in finishing out a game of solitaire if you have bent the rules along the way. Surely, there can be no pleasure in winning any game if you know that you have deliberately deceived others in order to do so. Rules have to be respected and observed in order that the competitors are playing against each other on an equal footing. It makes no sense at all for one player to be penalised for an action if others are not also penalised for the same action. If players participate in the same game but apply different rules it will almost certainly lead to arguments, confusion, disagreement and mayhem. Without rules and regulations there cannot be a satisfactory outcome to the game, competition or match

Golf is very special in that the vast majority of rounds are played without the intervention of any referee, umpire, judge or arbiter being present, so it up to the players to apply the Rules to the best of their ability and integrity. Ignorance of the Rules cannot be used as any kind of excuse, as Rule 6-1 states;

“The player and his caddie are responsible for knowing the Rules.”

My conclusion is that if you are not playing golf to its Rules, you are not playing golf.

Barry Rhodes

Barry Rhodes is an enthusiastic, high handicap golfer who developed an interest, then a fascination, and now an obsession with the Rules of Golf. He is resident in Dublin, Ireland, where he is an active member of Milltown Golf Club. Barry’s relationship with the Rules began in 2000 with his participation in the inter-club Rules of Golf quiz competitions, organised by the R&A for Golf Clubs in Great Britain and Ireland. This then led to him writing articles, running quizzes, and delivering presentations on the Rules at a variety of Golf Club and corporate functions. He has his own web blog containing miscellaneous content for anyone who wishes to improve their knowledge and understanding of the Rules of Golf at www.barryrhodes.com. In March 2008, Barry became the first person to achieve a 100% correct mark on the public Advanced Rules of Golf Course examination, run by the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) in their headquarters at The Belfry, West Midlands, UK.
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Do you know what can happen when golfers use terms incorrectly or which are not defined in the Rules of Golf? Here we submit to you the “Top 10 Misused Terms in Golf.”

No. 10, “Through the Green”
No. 9, “Rough”
No. 8, “Fairway”

These three terms have a strong relationship to one another in that they are typically misused when referring to areas of the course. The terms “rough” and “fairway” are actually areas of the course that the Rules call ” through the green .”

The issue with “through the green” is that most tend to believe it refers to the area over the back of the green. However, by definition within the Rules of Golf, if an area of the golf course is not a hazard (i.e., a bunker or a water hazard), and is not the teeing ground or the putting green of the hole you are playing, it is “through the green.”

Did you know the word “rough” does not appear in the Rules of Golf , and the word “fairway” appears only once? Ironically “fairway,” while not defined in the Rules, is used to clarify the term “closely mown area” for where a player is entitled to relief for a ball embedded in its own pitch-mark ( Rule 25-2 ). Although golfers at all skill levels use these terms, you will not be able to find these words in the index when attempting to look them up in the Rules of Golf booklet. Quite simply, both fairway and rough fall under one term: “through the green.”

No. 7, “Waste Area/Waste Bunker”

Many modern golf courses have areas often referred to as “waste areas” or “waste bunkers.” These are typically areas that don’t meet the definition of either a water hazard or a bunker . Generally, they are unmaintained natural areas installed by modern-day course architects to add another test for golfers to negotiate (or to reduce maintenance costs), and are simply “through the green.” That means the Rules allow you to ground your club and/or take practice swings in these areas. And that can be a good thing.

No. 6, “Trap”

Continuing with bunkers, let’s get another misnomer out of the way. A bunker is not a “trap.”

By definition, a bunker is a prepared area of ground, often a hollow, from which turf or soil has been removed and replaced with sand or the like. Many golfers like to refer to them as traps or sand traps. Now, the last time I checked, a “trap” is not something anyone or anything wants to be in (i.e., bear traps, rat traps, speed traps). What’s more, if one attempts to look up the word “trap” in the Rules of Golf, the search will be fruitless, as the word is not there. A bunker, on the other hand, has a much less punitive connotation and is the proper term as defined in the Rules of Golf.

No. 5, “Cup”
No. 4, “Pin”

It is a bit of a mystery as to how the terms “cup” and “pin” came to replace the proper terms of ” hole ” and ” flagstick .” Seems that it is just as easy to refer to them as a “hole,” and a “flag” or a “stick.” Most golfers should cringe every time they hear television announcers refer to the hole location as the day’s “pin placement.” After all, the purpose of the game as laid out in Rule 1-1 is to put the ball in the hole, not in the cup.

No. 3, “Tee Box”

Let’s talk about the “tee box.” Historically, the tee box was a small wood crate filled with sand used for building a small mound to place the ball for the tee shot; that is until the wooden tee peg became all the rage in the early 1900s. The starting place of each hole is a rectangular area, two club-lengths in depth and the width of the tee-markers, and the proper term for it is ” teeing ground .”

No. 2, “Rub of the Green”

Another term often misused by television announcers is “rub of the green.” Most use the term to refer to bad luck. According to the Rules of Golf, a rub of the green occurs when a ball in motion is accidentally deflected or stopped by an outside agency. Sure, it’s frustrating when a perfectly good shot heads toward the flagstick, only to have the ball strike the flagstick and careen into a greenside bunker. That’s a rub of the green that is bad luck. However, a ball destined for out of bounds or a bad place, that miraculously strikes a tree and comes to rest in a more desirable spot is a rub of the green that is good luck. Some know this as a “member’s bounce.” Here is a link to a terrific video clip of Payne Stewart receiving a very lucky ” rub of the green .”

Can you guess what term is NO.1?

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