Are Average Golfers Anchoring To Great Advantage?

I'm catching up on the week's chatter, so forgive me if you saw some of the pre-Canadian Open talk about a possible ban on anchoring long putters. Rick Young at Score Golf featured some intriguing comments from players in Canada and one stood out:

"The USGA and R&A will have a tough time changing a rule that hurts the average player," Pernice said. "Belly putters and long putters are helping average golfers. They don't want to take them away. I think it has to be a rule for competition at the highest level. If they do away with it, it does some injustice to the average player. We want average players to get as many advantages as possible. I don't want it taken from amateurs who may not play anymore because putting has them so frustrated they don't want to play anymore."

We are well aware that a lot of pros are getting an advantage from anchoring, but are average players really gaining much from anchoring?

Comments

[rmp]

c&c - I bet you won't play anyone in the club championship that has graphite shafts, metal drivers, hybrids, wedges with more than 54 degrees of loft and of course not one of those new inventions the sand wedge or any putter newer in design than a bullseye. NOT. I bet you bag has most of those in it and I bet you do not play a wound balata ball. And you are worried about some one anchoring a club. You sound just like the hypocrits at the USGA and the R&A, Remember how the banishing of square grooves was going to change the pro game? Flyers out of the rough, no more now than with the squares. Watch any tournament onTV, the pros are still spinning the ball back and stopping it out of the rough. What a joke. Just going to cost everyone money to be conforming.

[carnaptious and camsteerie]

@IanB ... indeed. Its anchoring that's causing the problem, not the length of the putter.

[Viz]

I'm tired of hearing that Adam Scott's broomstick cost him the British Open and that the long putter is not an advantage on short putts especially in the wind. Anchoring anything to your body would help in windy conditions as opposed to using your hands freely for the wind to effect the hands swinging the putter. AND as far as this nonsense that stats show that it doesn't make a difference in putting statistics each tournament whether long or short---fact is more Tour players are using the "cheater putter" so more guys are winning with it.

[The O]

On following rules generally, I think most people generally follow the rules. They do in my group. Do we give people tap ins? Yes. Do people drop by literally dropping a ball rather than standing erect, arm at shoulder's heigth, etc., Yes. My impression is the most broken rule in golf is the OB rule and the lost ball rule. Ever hit a ball in the rough, and get up there and not find it? Of course. That's when people drop instead of reloading. It happens. I've seen all sorts of rules transgressions, but by and large, people try.

As for long puttes, I think I've seen maybe a handful of those things in regular play. I don't know regular players who use them. I go MONTHS between seeing one.