PEBBLE BEACH, California (AP) ― Tiger Woods has a solution to long putters ― make them no longer than the shortest club in the bag.
Woods said Tuesday at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am he has “never been a fan” of long putters that players either anchor into their belly or the broom-style putters that are pressed against the chest.
“I believe it’s the art of controlling the body and club and swinging the pendulum motion,” Woods said. “I believe that’s how it should be played. I’m a traditionalist when it comes to that.”
Woods said he has spoken to Royal & Ancient chief executive Peter Dawson the last several years about how the language could be written in the Rules of Golf that effectively would ban such putters.
“My idea was to have it so that the putter would be equal to or less than the shortest club in your bag,” Woods said. “And I think with that, we’d be able to get away from any type of belly anchoring.”
He said the putter still could be anchored to the forearm, as two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer once did.
Keegan Bradley became the first major champion to use a belly putter when he won the PGA Championship. Bill Haas used the same style when he won the Tour Championship to capture the FedEx Cup.
The belly putters gained momentum late last year with Bradley and Webb Simpson, who won twice late in the year and who nearly captured the PGA Tour money title. Both considered themselves good putters who felt as though anchoring the club to their stomach made them even better.
Tseng ready to put swing into action
MELBOURNE (AP) ― Yani Tseng unleashed her new, more powerful swing at Royal Melbourne on Monday, playing nine holes of practice to hone the tweaks to her technique and familiarize herself with the sandbelt course that will host the Women’s Australian Open this week.
Tseng started 2011 with a title at the Women’s Australian Open and went on to win a total of 12 tournaments, including two majors and seven on the LPGA Tour to finish with the No. 1 ranking by a wide margin.
The 23-year-old Taiwanese golfer started preparing for the 2012 Australian tournament ― which on Thursday kicks off a three-week Asian swing before the LPGA Tour moves to U.S. soil next month in Arizona ― by watching how Tiger Woods and Co. handled Royal Melbourne Golf Club’s Composite course during the Presidents Cup in November.
“I watched many holes and ... I learnt a lot from the TV,” she said Tuesday. “I know which places you better not go and the strategy to play. It worked out pretty well.
“You are going to use a lot of imagination to play on this course.”
Her nine holes Monday gave her an even better appreciation of the layout at Royal Melbourne, which is hosting a professional women’s tournament for the first time.
“It was pretty tough. The greens were fast. I am very excited and I can’t wait to go out and have fun,” she said in comments reported Tuesday by Australian Associated Press. “We have a good field this week and a great golf course.”
