Golf rules debate sparked by pro at LIV feeder event: "Egregious"
A competitor in the field at this week's International Series event on the Asian Tour has been accused by golf fans of anchoring his putter.
Dan Bradbury caused an almighty storm last week when he claimed his second DP World Tour title at the Open de France.
Some golf fans reckoned that the Wakefield native, 25, was not by playing by the rules as they deemed he was anchoring his putter at Le Golf National.
The young pro switched to a broomstick-style flatstick for the tournament and the change paid immediate dividends.
You can remind yourself what happened here.
For his part, Bradbury fiercely denied the claims and suggested it's up to game's rule makers, the USGA and R&A, to make changes.
Read what he had to say here.
The rules debate reared its head once again at this week's International Series event on the Asian Tour.
The winner of the order of merit gets one golden ticket to the 2025 LIV Golf League and American John Catlin currently leads the way.
One golfer in the field also caught the eye of X user Shane Gurnett, who clipped and re-shared the video below.
"The rules are optional on the Asian Tour," he wrote.
Take a look at the clip here:
What is your verdict?
To some X users, they believed the player was guilty of anchoring.
Here's some reaction:
"Ban it. Putter should be shortest club in bag."
"This is different how to the guy who won in Europe last week?"
"Egregious."
"Disgusting."
"Looks anchored?"
"Is that Langer's nephew?"
"I saw him putt on his last hole and was astounded. Anchoring was very clear. Usually the TV coverage doesn't enable a clear view of questionable techniques."
What is anchoring?
The USGA and R&A implemented a ban on anchoring in 2016 under Rule 14-1b, which prohibits players from anchoring the club, either "directly" or "indirectly," to their body while making a stroke.
In anchoring, a player stabilises part of the club (often the grip end) against their body, which reduces the movement of the hands and wrists.
This was commonly done with long putters or belly putters. While these putters are still legal, the method of anchoring them is not.
Players must freely swing the club, without using their body as a pivot point.
The rule was introduced to ensure that all strokes are made with a free-swinging motion, promoting fairness and consistency in the game
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Ben joined the GolfMagic team in September 2021, initially as a content executive.
These days, he assumes the position of content manager.
