For anyone who has ever seen me putt, you would probably agree that my putting is inconsistent at best. I usually run the gamut from days when my putting is mediocre to days when it is downright ugly. If American Idol had a reality show where amateurs compete to be the best putter in the country, I would be William Hung (She Bangs! She Bangs!). To say my frustration level was high would be like saying that LeBron James can play a little basketball.
Over the years I have tried just about every drill that I have read about or seen online or seen on television but, nothing really seemed to help. I had resigned myself to the fact that good putters were born not made.
So, with nothing left to lose and out of conventional options, I decided to take the belly putter plunge. What finally pushed me over the edge was an occasional round I would play with someone using a log putter and how successful they were at putting.. Some used the extra long putters anchored at the chest and others used the more conventional style anchored at one’s belly. But they all seemed to make an awful lot of putts and I desperately wanted part of that.
Without wanting to spend a ton of money on a putter that I was not sure would help me, I found a used, reasonably- priced putter online. I made the purchase and the putter was delivered to my home on a Thursday afternoon late last year. Of course, as luck would have it, the very next day, the USGA sent out a memo that they were seriously considering banning all anchored putters. Just my luck, I thought.
I put the putter away for the remainder of last season and the beginning of this season with the thought that I would not be able to use it for the long haul so what was the point. But, after an early spring round in which I missed a boatload of make-able birdie and par putts, I dragged the belly putter out of the basement and put it in my bag. If the devil had tapped me on the shoulder that day and traded the ability to putt for my soul, I just may have taken him up on the offer. I was hoping that the long putter would save my soul for another day.
Well, I have now used the putter for three rounds and it is (so far) the best decision I have made in a long time of playing golf. I am super confident over many putts that would have previously sent me into a state of apoplexy. I suddenly feel like I have leveled the playing field on the putting surface.
Will this euphoria last? Will I revert to being a bad putter again? Only time will tell, but, until that day, I am going to enjoy that sublime feeling of rolling in 10 footers for birdie or 5 footers for par. And, if some day down the road the USGA outlaws anchored putters, I’ll figure out what to do when that time comes.
