Tiger's long putter solution

Long putters became the talk of golf in 2011 with Keegan Bradley becoming the first major champion to use a belly putter and Adam Scott turning around his fortunes by employing a broomstick.

Woods doesn't like either and has suggested that one idea to to combat the anchoring into the stomach of the belly and the pressing against the chest of the broom-style putter is to make long putters no longer than the shortest club in the bag.

"My idea was to have it so that the putter would be equal to or less than the shortest club in your bag."
Tiger on long putters Quotes of the week

Talking about putting at his press conference ahead of this week's Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Woods said: "I believe it's the art of controlling the body and club and swinging the pendulum motion. 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 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, a technique once used by two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer.

The R&A and USGA are still looking into the situation but are wary that longer putters can help recreational players stay interested in the game while a ban might also affect the equipment companies.

Much bigger topic

USGA executive director Mike Davis said: "If you look back at the interest in it, it really never changed for over 20 years. Then all of a sudden in 2011 ... this has become a much bigger topic. So the R&A and USGA have been talking about this at length, and we're looking at it from the perspective as ... what is good for the game for all golfers long term."

"It is something that we have taken a fresh look at, because there are more players in the game, both on the elite level and on the recreational level, using it," Davis said.

"I think we just want to be sure that we're looking at all the angles and thinking about what is in the best interest, both the traditions of the game, the history of the game and what is what we think would be good for the game long term."

Other elite players have experimented with longer putters, including Phil Mickelson, but the left-hander has returned to his conventional putter in 2012.

Three-time major winner Ernie Els perhaps summed up the feeling of many.

Once a critic, he switched to a belly putter late last year and said: "As long as it's legal, I'll keep cheating like the rest of them."