Commentary: Golfer Bradley’s long putter needs to go

Keegan Bradley showed some moxie in winning the PGA Championship in his first attempt at a major — overcoming a crippling triple-bogey on the 15th hole with some masterful shots, then prevailing in a playoff.

Ordinarily, that would qualify as some pretty cool stuff, but it’s hard for someone to actually look cool even making birdies under pressure if you have to pull out one of those long-handled putters to do it.

Bradley is among an ever-growing number of golfers who have resorted to that yip-controlling contraption. And after becoming the first player to win a major with one of those monstrosities, my fear is that they’re going to become even more popular.

To me, a belly or broom-handle putter is an admission that you just can’t get the ball in the cup the conventional way, and I think the USGA made a mistake in not outlawing them from the start.

Forget for a minute how dorky they look, golfers shouldn’t be able to gain an edge by anchoring a club to their bodies. Part of the skill of golf is swinging the putter back and forth smoothly without twitching, flinching, peeking or yelping like a frightened poodle. The long putter takes the stress out of that back-and-forth motion, wiping out an edge for the golfer with the better stroke.

The USGA puts restrictions on the length of driver shafts but allows hockey sticks for putters. It doesn’t make sense.

For the recreational golfer wanting to roll the ball a little better, I say keep the long putter in your bag. But for pro golfers needing help on 4-footers, I say see your sports psychologist.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125 or dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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