PGA Tour Confidential: The Deutsche Bank Championship

Every week of the 2011 PGA Tour season, the editorial staff of the SI Golf Group will conduct an e-mail roundtable. Check in on Mondays for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors and join the conversation in the comments section below. BIG WEEK FOR THE BELLY Michael Bamberger, senior writer, Sports Illustrated : Greetings, fellow Confidentialists. Another interesting week in our global golf village. In Boston, Webb Simpson (and his long putter) wins again. In Ponte Vedra, the Tour players win again (with their new TV contract). On the Euro Tour, the Great Dane, Thomas Bjorn, wins again. But the news of the week really has to be long putters. Golf's original Independent Thinker, Mr. Phil Mickelson, went to the long wand in Boston, and the stigma against the broomstick is fading fast. What do we think, folks, about the belly putter? Is it good for the game? Will it someday become as commonplace as the 60-degree wedge? I, for one, can't stand it. I'll be buying one immediately. Jim Gorant, senior editor, Sports Illustrated : There was a point this weekend when I thought to myself, "I wonder if I should try a belly putter?" I guess that says it all. Gary Van Sickle, senior writer, Sports Illustrated : I'm not buying that it's an advantage, but it certainly works. So does The Claw, as Chris DiMarco once proved. The guy who is selling an extension to turn any putter into a belly putter is a guy in the right place at the right time with the right product. I will be writing about him shortly. Alan Shipnuck, senior writer, Sports Illustrated : It's a bad look but ultimately not that big of a deal. It's legal and available to everyone. Time to stop kvetching and get used to it because at this rate half the Tour will be using one next year. Ryan Reiterman, senior producer, Golf.com : I hate it. But if my livelihood depended on making five-footers, I would use everything under the rules of golf to make 'em. Damon Hack, senior writer, Sports Illustrated : I can't stand the belly putter. I think it should be abolished. Putting is a difficult skill, and the best putters always seemed to overcome those tingling fingers and hands we all feel over a short putt. The broomsticks and bellies fundamentally change what that all-important 14th club is supposed to do and be. David Dusek, deputy editor, Golf.com : So many guys are rock solid from tee to green, but we all know that tournaments are usually won or lost on the greens. With so little separating the guy who wins from the guy who comes in 30th, why wouldn't you try a belly or long putter? I'm only surprised that it has taken this long for a run of long-putter wins to happen. Stephanie Wei, contributor, SI Golf+ : This weekend I stuck a club in my belly and made some practice strokes. Now I understand what everyone means when they say you can't miss short putts. I'd consider trying one now, and I wouldn't have a few months ago. Jim Herre, managing editor, SI Golf Group : The long putter has been around for what, 30 years? It's here to stay. Look for a long-putter guru to make a killing showing us civilians how to use it. Wei : Was anyone really that surprised Phil turned to the belly putter this week? C'mon, you all had to have seen it coming! Herre : I didn't. Phil was, arguably, the best putter of his generation. A sea change. Van Sickle : Had Phil used a belly putter well at the British Open, he might have won it by four. Bamberger : It's asking a lot to think any of us are just going to put it in our bags and get some putting magic. It's a different thing, and as Jim says it requires instruction. It was only two years ago that Phil was loving what Dave Stockton was telling him, re-emphasizing the forward press. Now, with the belly, no forward press. It sounds much more scientific and logical. Do we think Phil will stay with it? It's hard to imagine him using it at Augusta, isn't it? Van Sickle : Yes, Phil will stay with it. He's never admitted to having some form of the yips, but based on his short putting in recent months, it's clear he's got some kind of glitch or flinch. That said, he can't afford to go to Augusta without the belly putter. No place has scarier three-footers than Augusta. Charlie Hanger, executive editor, Golf.com : Phil is always changing things around, but if it's working for him come April, I don't think he'd hesitate to bring it to the National. Herre : If Phil has consistent success with the thing, he'll stay with it. Augusta, with its fast undulating greens, will be the acid test for the belly boys. Conventional wisdom holds that the belly is great for shortish putts, not so much for big-breaking, longer feel putts. Dusek : People don't realize how often Phil changed traditional-length putters. He's used several different models this season, but it all comes down to commitment. For a while Phil was committed to Dave Pelz's methodology, then he drifted to Dave Stockton. If he is truly committed to the belly putter and gets some success with it in the coming weeks, then I think he'll stick with it for a while. Jeff Ritter, senior producer, Golf.com : There was a time when Phil would tee it up with two drivers in his bag — one for a draw, one for a fade. Maybe he'll be the first to use two putters in the same round — a standard stick for lags, and a belly for the short ones. Hack : Maybe one for the right-to-left breakers and one for the left-to-righters? Gorant : Phil seems to be endlessly tinkering: two drivers, five wedges, etc. I bet he switches back and forth a few times over the coming years. Van Sickle : Remember when Ernie Els was outraged after Trevor Immelman won using a long putter? Ernie is now a convert. A very interesting phenomenon. Wonder how many of us amateur hacks are actually going to pick up belly putters to try out? Gorant : Ernie still says it should be banned, but as long as it's not, he's going to use it. Wei : They won't be banned now. Golf's governing bodies missed the boat on that one. Plus, if it were such an advantage, why isn't everyone using one? Why was Keegan Bradley the first to win a major with a belly? Van Sickle : It's funny how things have changed. The club has gone from being perceived as a crutch to making players wonder if it's actually an advantage. Hanger : It can't really be as easy to use as it looks on TV, can it? Who among us has tried it, and what did you think? (Beyond the impracticality of packing them for trips.) Bamberger : I think they are difficult to use, but maybe I need more instruction. The pros can make anything look easy. I feel even MORE uncoordinated with it. Herre : I've tried it a few times with no success, but I'm not much of a putter with a conventional club. Van Sickle : I've always thought there's a pretty big learning curve to get good with a belly or a long putter. I use the claw grip, almost no learning curve there. But you've gotta do what you've gotta do. If you can't putt, you can't play golf. Shipnuck : Phil is close to Couples and maybe sees him as a cautionary tale, a guy whose all-around game is superb into his 50s but who kicked away countless wins with spotty short putting. If this extends Phil's run as a big-time player, then I'm OK with it. Cameron Morfit, senior writer, Golf Magazine : I watched Adam Scott's stroke with the belly, and he barely holds onto it at all with his right hand. He has two fingers barely on the club. One-putt Webb seems to have it figured out. Van Sickle : Not sure Adam Scott has it all figured out. This was his second bad finish in a FedEx Cup event. He was in contention at the Barclays, then shot 42 coming in and dropped out of the top 40. He also faded in Boston. Not necessarily due to putting but still a cautionary tale. Bamberger : This whole long putter discussion is another reminder that change in golf comes from the top. Pros made the 60-degree wedge acceptable, and the 7-wood and the massive driver, and now the long putter. For good or for bad, we take cues from them. Herre : Right, Michael. That's why most leading manufacturers of golf equipment are against bifurcation. Tell us what you think: Is the belly putter good for the game? Would you try one? Tweet