Adam Scott has struggled with his putting after being forced away from the long putter to a standard normal putter that everyone else seems to be able to putt with without any issues.
However, Scott is now ripping a rules change that 100% benefits him.
In an interview with the New York Times, Scott called the rules changes a joke.
One new rule has lowered the height from which players make a drop: it is now from the knees, rather than the shoulders, a change that the former men’s world No. 1 Adam Scott described as awkward. Whenever he bends over or squats with the ball, he can’t help but imagine rules officials assigned to monitor potential rules violations squinting at their screens, scrutinizing his release down to the inch.
“They’ve just written more gray areas into the game that were not necessary,” said Scott, who won’t make a drop without asking his caddie or a nearby official if he has the height right.
Scott continued by taking on the issue of putting with the flag stick in.
“To be honest, it almost changes the whole aim of the game. It’s to hit the pin, not hole the putt,” Scott said. “It takes speed out of your head so much. It even takes some reading of the green out.”
Yeah, umm, doesn’t that benefit a guy who has struggled since the anchoring ban was put in place? Now you just have to worry about your aim and not so much the speed.
“Let’s have all the rules on the back of the scorecard for people to get into the game of golf,” Scott said, adding, “And then as you get playing more you can maybe learn some finer points of this very complex game.
“We haven’t had a lot of changes in golf in the history of the game , and we’ve had a lot recently — rules changing weekly in some cases — and it’s crazy,” Scott said.
He added, “I think we’re becoming the laughingstock.”
Come on Adam, you’re better than this.
Scott currently ranks 26th in strokes gained putting WITH THE FLAG IN, which isn’t too bad. However, he ranked 165th in strokes gained putting last season without the flag in. That is NOT GOOD!
Seems kind of obvious.
While there are definitely some rules that need to be changed, see Rickie Fowler’s ball rolling into the water after a drop at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, some of them, like the flag stick in, are an experiment. Dropping from knee height is also understandable as it means there is less bounce and the ball will come to rest closer to it’s original spot. Also, you don’t have to putt with the flag in if you don’t want to. The option is left up to the player.