John Smoltz wins celebrity golf event with VERY STRANGE putter!
Golf fans question whether Smoltz's putter is actually legal...
Former baseball star John Smoltz won the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions celebrity title for the second year running on Sunday, but it was the legality of his putter that drew the biggest headlines on social media.
The former Atlanta Braves pitcher carded 39 points in the final round of the Stableford format tournament, enough for a total of 150 points and a comfotable nine-point triumph over tennis ace Mardy Fish.
While impressive on the greens at Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club Orlando, it was the club in question - a self standing Bloodline putter - that left many golf fans scratching the surface as to its legality in the game.
These putters are golf’s equivalent of the Hurrycane pic.twitter.com/mVaWytxg1E
— Amanda Rose (@amandagolf59) January 18, 2020
We can assure you this putter is very much legal, and the concept behind it is pretty simple too.
It's counterbalanced design allows it to stand on its own, as you can see in the video above, meaning the golfer can place the putter behind the ball and walk away to check the alignment from behind the putt.
Some consider this club should be against the rules of golf, especially when caddies have been removed from standing behind players to line them up.
However, the putter is still 100% legal in competition play. Putters are allowed to stand freely next to a golf ball, as they're intended to be used, in order to "assist the player in taking a stance or to tpoint out the line of play."
"People are always looking to see where to get it online," said Smoltz. "Because honestly if you can trust the line, you're not always going to have the right line - but if you can trust it, that's half the battle."
Golf Channel's Blair O'Neal, playing sixth months pregnant, finished in sixth place.
The tournament was running alongside the LPGA, which saw Gaby Lopez defeat Nasa Hataoka at the seventh extra hole after the pair returned on Monday morning.
NEXT PAGE: CONTROVERSY SURROUNDS HATAOKA'S "MISMARKED BALL"
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