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Anchored Putter Ban: One Year Later How Five Players Affected

By Mike Randleman

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Tim Clark

Anchored putter ban
Apr 11, 2014; Augusta, GA, USA; Tim Clark hits his tee shot on the 4th hole during the second round of the 2014 The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports /

For most, anchored putters are a choice. For Tim Clark, it was his only option.

Just about any golfer who has sought out an unconventional putter or style has done so as a product of curiosity or need for change. They could give an anchored putter a try as they pleased, but never had to commit to it.

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Tim Clark has no such luxury. Clark was born with a disability that disallows him from supinating his wrists. He can swing a golf club fine, but simple tasks like holding a bowl of soup are difficult for Clark.

So is putting conventionally. In fact, it’s impossible.

“I can’t grip the club properly if it’s close to my body because I don’t have the means to tuck my elbows in,” Clark was quoted in a 2013 Sports Illustrated article.

Clark used a long putter for decades dating back to his junior days. The ban impacted his livelihood almost more than anyone, and he made that clear in his unsuccessful rally against it.

Few in his circles had a problem with his long putter helping to a win at the Players Championship in 2010. Little did he know that showing you could win with an anchored putter may have kept him from having the chance to win more. Just a few years later, the anchored putter ban debate was stoked.

Clark Needed the Anchoring Option

He spoke at a player’s meeting in San Diego, galvanizing many in attendance to come to his side. Clark’s influence might have been a factor when then-PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem expressed his opposition before the USGA and R&A followed through with the ban.

The two-time PGA Tour winner finished third on the PGA Tour in SG putting in an anomalous 2007, but never finished inside the top 40 any other year. He was known more for his accuracy off the tee and a proficiency around the greens when his ball-striking failed him.

Still, the anchored putter ban served as a likely death sentence for a career already hampered by injuries.

Clark gave it a go in 2016 with a newfangled AccuLock Ace Putter that looked like it was from a 2 a.m. Golf Channel infomercial. It actually worked at the Sony Open that January en route to a T13 finish.

He couldn’t follow it up the next week. In his last worldwide start, Clark missed the cut the next week at the Career Builder Challenge late in January 2016. No timetable is known for a potential return for the 41-year-old.

Next: Is Webb Simpson Back From Putting Purgatory?

How do you feel about the anchored putting ban? Have the USGA and the R&A stepped into an area of the game where they don’t belong? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

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