OK, maybe long putters aren’t cool, but it does seem that Adam Scott has at least made long putters an acceptable option for players that previously wouldn’t consider one.  Lee Westwood put one in play at the Masters.  Ernie Els is reportedly thinking about bagging one this week at the Verizon.   and are right there with him (even though Greene thinks they should be illegal).

Bill Haas is also apparently considering making the switch  after Brendan Steele used a belly putter to win the Valero last weekend.  Tiger was even photographed practicing a long putter stroke during his golf tour of Asia last week.  After all of his 3 putts on Sunday at the Masters, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he’s at least been testing one.

When asked about Scott’s success at the Masters with a long putter, Anthony Kim quipped, “Obviously it’s working for him.  Maybe I should go try it.”

In the past, putting a belly putter in your bag was a tacit admission that you had some serious putting problems and you were looking for something… anything to save your game.  But now with players like Scott and Steele having success with long putters, players seem to be viewing it as another tool to play better… even if they hold their noses while using it.

Personally, I’ve tried a both a belly putter and a long putter in the past and found that I putted worse with them.  But I don’t have a problem with people using them.  Unless somebody in my foursome shows up with one and beats me.  Then they should be illegal.

The USGA and R&A have finally come to their senses and announced a rule change that will allow players who learn of an infraction after signing their scorecards to be assessed a penalty rather than being disqualified.

The new rule applies when a “player is not aware he has breached a Rule because of facts that he did not know and could not reasonably have discovered prior to returning his score card”.

The change comes after Padraig Harrington and Camilo Villegas were disqualified for signing incorrect scorecards earlier this year in different tournaments.  In Harrington’s case, his ball moved on the green.  He knew that the ball had moved, but thought that it had returned to it’s original position and consequently did not replace the ball and take a penalty stroke.

Only after viewing the incident over 60 times with HD footage were officials able to determine (the next day) that the ball had moved one and a half dimples from its original position.

In Villegas’s case, he would still be disqualified under the new rule for not knowing the rule he violated at the time it occurred.  Villegas moved a piece of turf after duffing a chip as the ball was rolling back down the hill to it’s original starting position.

I guess the difference in interpretations is that there was no doubt Villegas violated the rule.  He just simply wasn’t aware of the rule in the first place.  In Harrington’s case, he was aware of the rule and believed at the time that he had not violated it.  The rules infraction was only identified through the use of technology not available to him out on the golf course.

This is a great move by the USGA and R&A.  It’s frankly ridiculous for players like Harrington to be DQ’d for an unwitting violation that can only be seen by a viewer watching at home on a 80″ hi-def display, using slow-motion replay.

The rule goes into effect immediately so thankfully, we won’t have to hear about any TV tattletales getting players disqualified from the biggest golf tournament of the year.

[Image Flickr/James Marvin Phelps]

Whoops!  Camilo was DQ’d this morning for this rules violation from yesterday’s round.  Probably not how he imagined his birthday.  Rule 23:1 states:

When a ball is in motion, a loose impediment that might influence the movement of the ball must not be removed

The kicker is that it looks like the piece of turf wouldn’t have been in the path of the ball if he hadn’t moved it.  Score another one for eagle eyed TV viewers.  I still can’t decide if I’m on board with people calling in rules violations or not.  Something just doesn’t sit right with me about a guy getting DQ’d the following day when the player, his marker, and the officials didn’t see a penalty at the time.

Time for Camilo to hit the beach with a few Pina Coladas.

PGA Tour

Last Monday, Brett Waldman, shot a final round 68 at PGA Tour Q-School.  It wasn’t enough for him to earn a PGA Tour Card, but it was good enough to get him a Nationwide Tour Card.  And the Nationwide Tour is where you will find Waldman next year.

There was quite a bit of speculation about where he would be in 2011.  Would he be on Camilo’s bag or making a go of it on the Nationwide Tour?  If he had earned a PGA Tour card, the decision would have been a no-brainer.  But the Nationwide Tour wasn’t necessarily an easy choice.

Camilo Villegas won over $3m on tour last year. Nobody knows Waldman’s exact take home pay, but it’s not unreasonable to assume that he earned north of $300k.

Only the top 9 players on the Nationwide Tour in 2010 won more than that.  And after taking into account sponsorship deals, travel expenses, etc they probably didn’t make as much as you might think.  And there’s no guarantee that Waldman will cash a single check next year playing on the Nationwide Tour.

It seems like a risky move giving up a virtually guaranteed 6 figure salary.  But for Waldman, the choice was clear:

I don’t want to look back knowing that I had the chance to do it and not doing it, and hating myself for it. I would always look back and say, ‘What if?’  There’s a reason I got to where I am. I might as well chase the dream.

For his part, Camilo has been very supportive of Waldman’s success:

Camilo was great.  I don’t think he was surprised. I think he expected it. I told him I was sorry, because I feel like we’ve got unfinished business. But all along, he has been unbelievable supportive and respectful.

Now both Waldman and Villegas have to begin the search for new caddies.  And who knows, maybe we’ll get to see the former caddie teeing it up with his former player on the PGA Tour in the not too distant future.

Golf.com

Photo by Rob Hayashida Sandbox8.com

I’m posting a generic Camilo Villegas pic, because well frankly I can’t bring myself to put a picture of a buck naked Camilo Villegas on the front page of my blog.  First we have Rocco doing his best Camilo impression and now Camilo had to one up him by posing nude on the cover of a magazine.  WTF were they thinking?  Do that many women really buy ESPN magazine?  Couldn’t they get Natalie Gulbis or Paula Creamer or somebody?

I’m predicting very low sales among their typical audience for this issue.  Click the continue link if you really want to see the picture.

You really clicked on the link?  What the hell is wrong with you?  I’m not even going to post the picture here.  Click on this link if you really want to see it.  Seriously, it’s not something that you will ever be able to unsee.  Seriously.  You have been Warned.

Thanks for making sure I had that image burned into my retinas, Wei Under Par…

This is apparently what a Camilo Villegas impression looks like when you’re about to turn 48 and have a bad back.  He’s not quite as flashy as Camilo, but I give him an “A” for effort.