By:
Nick Piastowski
January 21, 2023
Lucas Glover on Thursday on the American Categorical match.
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He made the putt. And there will not be, as they are saying, photos on the scorecard, however a five-second video struck a chord.
Like right here:
And right here:
And on and on. You possibly can Google “Lucas Glover putt” or Twitter-search the identical matter for extra. Although regardless of the wealth of data, it’s possible you’ll be asking your self this:
What’s that?
Technically, that’s simple! It was a 3-foot par putt from Lucas Glover, your 2009 U.S. Open winner, throughout Thursday’s first spherical of the American Categorical match. However as you may see — perhaps — there’s extra. Or is it much less? On the putt, Glover took his blade again with a fast wrist flip, then moved it ahead with one other flip, and his ball rolled in.
Although now you might have extra questions …
Has Lucas Glover putted this fashion earlier than?
Sure, most notably eventually yr’s Honda Traditional, the place it was recorded and shared throughout the web very like this week’s putt, and you may take a look at that under.
Is it authorized?
On the Honda putt, we dug into this. Briefly, sure, and right here’s what we wrote:
Below Rule 10.1, you’ll see the “stroke” outlined as the next:
A stroke is made by pretty hanging at a ball with the top of a membership. The elemental problem is to direct and management the motion of your complete membership by freely swinging the membership with out anchoring it.
Within the related language below 10.1a/1, the foundations define three strategies that don’t represent a “stroke”:
This eyebrow-raising placing stroke was nearly unlawful — right here’s why it wasn’t
By:
Luke Kerr-Dineen
– A participant holes a brief putt by hanging the ball with the underside of the clubhead, utilizing a movement much like that utilized in making a shot in billiards or shuffleboard. Shifting the ball like it is a push.
– A participant strikes the membership alongside the floor of the bottom pulling it in direction of her or him. Shifting the ball like it is a scrape.
– A participant slides a membership beneath and really near the ball. The participant then lifts and strikes the ball by use of a ahead and upward movement. Shifting the ball like it is a scoop.
Which brings us again to Glover. After the Honda putt dropped, a small group of commentators on social media speculated that the putt was extra of a push, which ought to have constituted a two-shot penalty. And whereas it might look that method to the bare eye, once you decelerate the video, you may see the tiniest of backswings. You can even see Glover’s arms transfer (barely), which implies this was a professional stroke below the foundations of golf, honest and sq..
Why?
It’s a yip transfer. Golf Digest’s Luke Kerr-Dineen expertly observed that Glover putted ‘historically’ on a minimum of two different events on Thursday on the American Categorical, and the putt in query was an outlier. Although a minimum of it was below some management. In spite of everything, there was this from Glover:
In fact, it wasn’t all the time like this. Glover’s been a world-class participant; in addition to his Open victory, he’s additionally gained the 2005 Funai Traditional and the 2011 Wells Fargo Championship. However then golf received in his head, as a result of that’s what golf does.
However Glover labored at it, as Michael Bamberger splendidly described right here. And Glover gained once more, in 2021 on the John Deere Traditional.
There’s a quote within the Bamberger piece, although, that perhaps sums up our query greatest. It comes from Glover’s agent, Mac Barnhardt.
“You possibly can’t be cured of the yips — all people has them. However you may decrease them.”
And on Thursday, Glover made the putt.
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Nick Piastowski
Golf.com Editor
Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Journal. In his function, he’s chargeable for modifying, writing and creating tales throughout the golf house. And when he’s not writing about methods to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native might be enjoying the sport, hitting the ball left, proper and brief, and consuming a chilly beer to clean away his rating. You possibly can attain out to him about any of those subjects — his tales, his recreation or his beers — at [email protected]