Posture is basically your setup at address, that is, it’s the way you stand to the ball before initiating the golf swing or stroke. Some people might not regard the posture as an important fundamental in putting because we see so many different methods and styles on Tour and elsewhere.

For example,

* Arnold Palmer, knocked-kneed and crouched…

* Gary Player, closed with his feet but square with his shoulders…

* Phil Mickelson, long arms and open to the target…

But let’s compare two players with double-digit major wins…

Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods are two of the best putters of all time, but Nicklaus had a much different posture compared to Tiger, but both of them were arguably two of best putters ever. Jack was bent over the ball and Tiger stands very upright. In other words, their spine angles in the address position are much different. Jack’s spine angle at address was much more parallel to horizontal whereas Tiger is parallel to vertical. Jack had his eyes close to the ball whereas Tiger is tall to the ball.

These seemingly trivial differences in their setups had a significant and profound effect on their putting strokes. Remember, the body is the engine of the putting stroke, the generator of energy. Good putters use rotational forces to create this energy.

So what does that mean?

The golf swing is all about rotation, circular motions.

It isn’t different in the putting stroke?

We want the ball to roll around its own axis thereby eliminating spin and skid. We create energy by turning the shoulders around the spine and that is why the position of your spine will determine the type of putting stroke you will have.

Tiger’s stroke has a lot more rotation and arc when compared to the stroke of Jack. But why? Because Jack’s spine angle was more horizontal, rotation around such an axes will result in a straighter arc with minimum rotation.

Another player implementing this strategy is Jim Furyk:he is very bent over the ball which reduces arc and rotation.

Conversely, Tiger and Rory McIlroy stand tall to the ball, thereby turning their shoulders on a flatter plane resulting in more rotation and arc. We could even compare that to a full swing! Traditionally, shorter players had a flatter swing and taller players a more upright plane. That is all determined by and a result of their spine angle at address.

Does that mean the one is better than the other? Absolutely not!

My recommendation: Find a comfortable, relaxed setup and let that model your putting stroke.

Marius Golf introduces a free video series One Minute to Better Putting. Click Here to have them delivered to your inbox.

By E. Michael Johnson

Just 18 months ago some manufacturers were tripling or quadrupling their fourth-quar-ter forecasts for sales of long and belly putters. That’s because the demand was skyrocketing after the major success of Keegan Bradley at the 2011 PGA Championship and several wins on the PGA Tour by other players. Eventually consumer interest reached a point where manufacturers struggled keeping up.

Since the proposal to ban anchoring was announced, putter buyers have been wary. Photo: Jeff Gross/Getty Images

“We couldn’t make those putters fast enough,” said Michael Fox, at the time TaylorMade’s global product category manager for putters and wedges. “Retailers were ordering by the thousands where it used to be they’d just take a few at a time.”

A year and a half later it’s a different story.

When the USGA and R&A announc-ed their proposal to ban anchoring in November 2012, many wondered what impact it would have on sales and tour usage. Some data is now available, and the early returns suggest it has had a chilling effect. According to tracking firm Golf Datatech, total putter sales in December 2012 cratered 21.1 percent versus the same month in 2011, marking the largest decline in putter sales since the company began tracking such numbers in 1997.

Tom Stine, president of Golf Data-tech, said that although his company does not break out sales of longer-than-standard putters, the drop in the numbers strikes him as cause and effect. “Did the announcement cause confusion in the market and therefore turn off golfers from buying any putters?” said Stine. “It’s an interesting coincidence to think about.”

Although it is possible to connect the decline with the proposed ban, it is important to remember that sales in December 2011 enjoyed a spike because that period was when golfers were rushing to buy belly putters. According to Sven Kessler, VP of retail sales for Edwin Watts, consumers would literally walk into shops saying, “I want a belly putter.” When asked what model or what length, many would reply, “I don’t know. I just want a belly putter.” Given that, the December 2011 numbers may have been artificially inflated, leading to a larger decline in 2012.

Still, Kessler leaves little doubt about the effect of the proposed ban on sales. “At their peak in spring 2012 nearly 30 percent of our putter sales were either mid- or long-length,” said Kessler. “That number dropped substantially after the rumor surfaced last summer about a possible ban and has only gotten worse since the announcement in November. We’re having trouble moving inventory of these clubs.”

On tour the impact has been just as noticeable. As many as 25 long/belly putters were in use at several events last season, but so far in 2013 that number has been slashed. At the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am just six players used such putters. Between the Northern Trust Open and Match Play only 12 different players went longer than standard. While those who have such clubs for long periods of time or with significant success (such as Tim Clark, Carl Pettersson, Bradley and Adam Scott) continue to ply their trade with them, others who had only recently begun experimenting with them such as Charles Howell III and Robert Garrigus have decided not to go any farther down the belly-putter path until the rule is clarified.

In the meantime, some manufacturers, anticipating the ban being enacted but golfers still wanting to use longer putters in a legal manner, have begun rolling out product designed for that purpose. Shortly after the proposed ban was announced Odyssey unveiled its Metal-X Arm Lock putter while TaylorMade recently debuted its Daddy Long Legs model on tour with Vijay Singh and Steve Marino putting the club in play. Both putters have longer-than-standard lengths but are designed to use counterbalancing, not anchoring, to stabilize the stroke.

Those putters may stabilize the stroke, but the use and sales of long and belly putters is likely to remain wobbly for the immediate future. For those still in the market for a long or belly putter, there is some good news, says Leigh Bader, president of 3balls.com and one of the driving forces behind the PGA Trade-In Network. “It may have been that people bought them and just found they couldn’t use them very well, or it may have been the proposed ban,” Bader said in January. “But belly and long putters are among our most-traded in clubs right now.”

TOUR STORIES

GARY WOODLAND // Driver alterations

Switching equipment companies almost always comes with a learning curve, and that’s been the case for Gary Woodland, who has worked with a few drivers this year as he settles in with his new Callaway clubs. At PGA National, Woodland made some changes to the company’s RAZR Fit Xtreme driver he had been using.

Although the club says it has 8.5 degrees loft, the actual loft is 8.2 degrees. Woodland also used the club’s adjustability to put a 7-gram weight in the heel and a 14-gram weight in the toe. The thought behind the heavier weight in the toe was to move the center of gravity just enough to produce the hotter flight Woodland sought. The results seemed to indicate the changes worked as Woodland ranked third in driving distance at PGA National at 304.4 yards per drive.

NEW STUFF

MIZUNO JPX-825 PRO
PRICE: $900 (Set of eight, steel)

Stacy Lewis won the HSBC Women’s Champions using these irons where the 8-iron through the wedges have a thicker face to promote a more penetrating flight.

mizunousa.com

BAG ROOM

During the final-round telecast of the Honda Classic, announcers frequently referenced the 5-wood Michael Thompson was using but never named the club — perhaps because they had never heard of the company. Thompson’s 5-wood was a 17-degree Akira M117 prototype — a club with a smallish head (120cc). A Japan-based company, Akira was formed in 2001 and its clubs have been used by numerous players on the Japan Tour, but rarely on the PGA Tour. … Odyssey’s Versa putter added a few converts at PGA National, including Branden Grace who used a Versa #1 Wide with black/white/black. Grace’s putter was customized with a Metal-X insert that Grace felt was closer to the previous Black Series Tour Design #1 Wide putter he used during his four European Tour wins last year. … David Duval shortened his Nike Method 006 putter a half-inch, making it 36 inches in length with a belly grip that counterbalances the putter. … The 2-iron was popular again at PGA National. Among those putting the wind-cheating clubs in play were Tiger Woods (Nike VR_S Forged), who had the lie angle on the club bent more upright at the Match Play, and Hank Kuehne (TaylorMade RocketBladez Tour). Others included Paul Casey, Duval and Seung-Yul Noh.

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Arnold Palmer outside the new Morning Drive Studio

We all remember our first girlfriend, office, and, most importantly, home. When the network executives conceived Morning Drive back in 2010, the initial premise was for the studio to be a man cave containing a show whose format was styled after a radio broadcast. I was fortunate to be one of the original hosts hired and was thrilled to be in the chair when we lit the lamp on Morning Drive on January 3, 2011.

This coming Monday, February 4, the show moves into its new residence, Studio AP, named after one of the founders of Golf Channel, Mr. Arnold Palmer. The level of humility felt by those of us who are associated with the program is profound, not only due to the name on the door but because of the value of the real estate, literally and figuratively. 

I never lose sight of the unique opportunity two live hours of morning television affords me to discuss all that is the game of golf. The game is an afternoon television enterprise and yet with the show’s new schedule we get to walk to the proverbial tee first thing every day of the week. Morning Drive has been able to gather traction as a result of acceptance by the industry and best players in the world, but owes most of its success to support from the people who love the game most, the viewers. I tell our staff that we get to work in the toy department of life, and that our new home gives us all the bells and whistles a studio could possibly offer. When the red light comes on next Monday at 7AM ET in Studio AP, it will be our first party in the new home and you’re all invited.

By E. Michael Johnson

A few weeks ago during a commercial shoot in California, Hunter Mahan was admiring Bubba Watson’s new Ping Tour Gorge wedges. At the Farmers Insurance Open, Mahan had a pair of the clubs in play. The reason, however, had little to do with his look into Watson’s bag.

It turns out that Mahan recently changed the angle of attack on his short chip and pitch shots to a steeper swing with more of a “hinged” motion. Ping tour rep Matt Rollins suggested to Mahan that the Tour Gorge wide-sole model would be perfect because it was designed for those with a steep move into the ball. Mahan used a 54-degree (bent to 53 degrees) and a 60-degree (bent to 59 degrees) in finishing T-15 at Torrey Pines.

Mahan discovered what many tour players have come to realize — when they make an adjustment to their swing, their equipment likely needs to be altered as well to accommodate the change.

Players changing or tweaking their equipment after adjusting their motion is a recent phenomenon, due mostly to launch monitors and other high-tech fitting systems spelling out exactly what a player needs from an equipment perspective. Until recently, it was more the other way around — players would change equipment and then realize they needed to adapt their swing.

Related: 2013 Hot List Drivers

The latter certainly applied to Byron Nelson, who made a significant swing change after realizing his old move didn’t work with his new steel shafts. Tiger Woods also discovered that he needed a higher launch angle to take advantage of the modern, lower-spinning golf ball. But now, the swing change comes first.

Take Jhonattan Vegas. A recent adjustment to his setup position that had him standing closer to the ball made him uncomfortable with his woods. As a result Vegas made the following tweaks at Torrey Pines: He changed his Nike VR_S Covert Tour driver from an open setting to a neutral setting; he also increased its loft from 8.5 degrees to 10.5 degrees and had his 3- and 5-woods shortened by 1/4-inch.

Players changing their putting strokes also need to be aware that their flat sticks might no longer suit their needs. As noted in the Jan. 28 edition of Golf World, Phil Mickelson reduced the amount of forward press in his stroke and employed a claw grip. To accommodate those measures he reduced the loft in his putter to 2 degrees.

Getting the proper lie angle also can be critical. Jerry Kelly tells of how a few years ago he changed his swing and then hit a rough stretch. He finally determined he needed to have his irons bent 1.5 degrees upright to accommodate his new swing.

Related: Best of the 2013 PGA Show

“You get to a point where you start wondering if it’s the swing or the equipment,” said Kelly. “But for me it was just a matter of getting everything right in the bag and then trusting it.”

Although Kelly was speaking about himself, it is a lesson average players would do well to heed. Think about it: Many players spend small fortunes on lessons without so much as considering that the changes they are implementing might be making their equipment ill-fitted.

So the next time you’re taking a lesson, have your pro check your equipment as well. Your swing might not be the only thing in need of fine-tuning.

NEW STUFF

TITLEIST PRO V1/V1x
PRICE: $48 (dozen)

Titleist’s new Pro V1 and Pro V1x feature an improved manufacturing process that provides greater consistency from ball to ball. The new balls have seven professional wins to date.

titleist.com

WILSON FG TOUR TC
PRICE: $100 (Lofts: 50 to 64 degrees in 2-degree increments)

The wedges boast a new milled groove with 11 laser-etched lines between each groove to enhance spin on full as well as partial shots.

wilson.com

BAG ROOM

When TaylorMade debuted its Rocketbladez irons last year at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, Sean O’Hair had a set in play that featured a camouflage badge in the cavity to keep the name secret. Since then O’Hair has continued to play the camo irons, but when he showed up with them at the Farmers Insurance Open, TaylorMade’s tour reps changed the badges to the standard version. … Adidas’ new adizero Tour shoe — which weighs only 10.6 ounces — debuted on tour at the Farmers Insurance Open. Among those wearing the shoes the first week out were Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Brandt Snedeker, Charles Howell III and Mike Weir. … Adams had more than double the number of hybrids in play as the next company at the FIO. Among those switching to the new white-headed hybrids were Casey Wittenberg and Steve Marino, who each used a 19-degree Adams Idea Super LS. … To assist with his alignment, Tag Ridings switched to Odyssey’s Versa #1 Wide model with white/black/white striping. Ridings finished T-15 at Torrey Pines ranking 34th in strokes gained/putting. … Billy Horschel overhauled his woods for 2013 and in La Jolla had Ping’s new G25 driver, 3- and 5-woods in play. … J.B. Holmes went with a 7.5-degree version of Callaway’s X Hot Pro driver in La Jolla. The lower-lofted head with a square face angle upped Holmes’ ball speed and helped reduce the hook he had been fighting. Holmes ranked first in driving distance (317.5 yards) before missing the cut at Torrey Pines. Holmes also switched to Callaway’s new X Forged irons, citing the improved turf interaction due to the sole design. Normally Holmes has the leading edges ground to soften them, but only one iron required that work with this set.

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ORLANDO, Fla. – Bifurcation, anchored putting and growing the game of golf were all on the agenda for the State of the Industry forum on Friday, featuring nine industry leaders taking part in a roundtable discussion at the PGA Merchandise Show.

As one of the game’s biggest hot-button topics, bifurcation dominated much of the debate, with some of the game’s heavyweights weighing in on whether there should be two sets of rules – one for professionals and one for amateurs.

“As I said the other day in San Diego, generally it’s nice to think that the Rules of Golf can be the same for everybody,” PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said. “You like to think that the participants in the sport can appreciate when they look at the elite players, because they are playing by the same rules; they have an affinity to the elite players. But I don’t think that gets eroded from time to time if you were to bifurcate in certain situations.

“College football is the same. Even though you only have to have one foot in, it’s still the same game.”

“In general I trust the USGA and R&A,” explained LPGA commissioner Mike Whan. “I know when an outsider looks at me and has a question about a tournament format, it’s easy on the outside to look in, but we live it every day. I know the USGA and R&A are not just talking about anchoring the putter; they are looking at it in a long term and to trust the rules and hope we can keep the same rules for quite a bit longer, I think it’s a better amateur experience.”

Those in favor of bifurcation believe it’s a world in which we already live.

“It’s not coming; it’s here,” TaylorMade CEO Mark King reiterated. “We already live in bifurcation. We already do. Nobody plays by the exact Rules of Golf on Friday afternoon with their buddies. So I think it’s about time that we realize what we have, we have elite players that need a set of rules and we need to create an environment where people want to come in and enjoy this great game, whether it’s one foot in the end zone or two feet, we need to create that environment for people.”

As for anchoring, PGA of America president Ted Bishop restated his stance on wanting to keep it a part of the game.

“The thing that’s frustrating on our end is that this is such a polarizing subject,” Bishop maintained. “It was really almost a 50/50 split of those that were either opposed to the ban on anchoring or who were undecided versus those that were in favor of it. You know, it’s been our charge as an association to be the ones to grow the game. And quite honestly, you’ve seen the statistics, you’ve seen how the numbers have decreased year in and year out for a variety of reasons.

“And I think the PGA of America and our members are of mindset that anything that is done in the game today, that would legislate the loss of one player, one round of golf or that would create any kind of a trend is a very frustrating thing for us and for the facilities that we represent.”

Among other topics was the predicament of some world-class courses becoming obsolete at the elite level due to players hitting it higher and longer than ever before.

“I think one of the saddest things I’ve seen in the time that I’ve been at this level,” said newly appointed PGA of America board member Dottie Pepper, “is that we are seeing places like Merion become really in the rearview mirror of championship golf and places where the game has been born and where American golf and golf worldwide have such great tradition and such great history really become that history.”

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem addressed the media Wednesday to discuss the mandatory players’ meeting that was held the previous night at Torrey Pines. The main topic discussed: The governing bodies’ proposed rule to ban the anchored stroke, beginning in 2016.

Here are highlights from Finchem’s news conference (Click here for complete transcript. Click here for Randall Mell’s article):

Q: Is there any scenario in which the Tour would not go along with the rule?

Finchem: “Our objective always has been to try our best to follow the rules as promulgated by the USGA and the R&A. We believe in the notion that one body of rules is important, and that’s always our intent. We just reserve the option not to, if we have overriding reasons not to do so. And that’s happened a couple of times. … So, yes. Technically there is that possibility. However, it certainly wouldn’t be our objective. Our objective is to follow the rules and keep the rules together.”

Q: What is the next step in this process?

Finchem: “We will continue discussions with our Player Advisory Council and our board over those weeks and determine what that reaction would be. … Personally, I view the professional game as being the strongest it’s ever been. So I don’t like to see distractions, but it’s not a perfect world. This is kind of a distraction.”

Q: If the Tour does decide to go along with the ban, would you look at implementing the ban sooner than what the USGA has proposed (2016)?

Finchem: “My view would be to move it quicker, if it’s going to happen because it continues to be a distraction if you don’t. You have players on television, in front of galleries, playing with a method that has been outlawed, even though the enforcement date is later. That’s in and of itself the makings of a distraction. On the other hand, if you’re a player who has grown up using that method, your livelihood depends on it, you probably are inclined to not want it to go into effect for a period of time. Here again, the issue is damned if you do, damned if you don’t to some extent, so it needs to be thought through carefully.”

Q: Do you think there is a willingness amongst the players to play with a different set of rules than the amateurs?

Finchem: “I think at its core we all know there are rules in golf that don’t make a lot of sense. You just read them. So from time to time, they get addressed. So there is always some level of sentiment to that. … I do think that the USGA and R&A have been talking to us for the last year or two about the possibility of working on simplification of the rules of golf, which is probably a healthy thing. A set of rules that would be more easily understood by the average player and consequently more adhered to. So there are some things under discussion.”