On second thought: Adam Scott brings back the broomstick

Adam Scott may have toyed with a shorter putter and different stroke during the first half of Wednesday’s Australian Open pro-am, but his trusty broomstick was back in the bag for the second nine -- at least for now.

Scott’s favored rock-rolling regimen, which he added to his repertoire last year and involves bracing a long pole against his chest, will likely be verboten in three years. Despite that, the 32-year-old Aussie told Steve Orme the proposed regulation played no role in his experiments with a new stick and grip and that he may, in fact, try them again later this week.

“Unless I invent a better way to putt for myself, then I’ll stick with the broomstick,” he said. “I’m just playing around with a few different ideas but I certainly like a lot of the philosophies of putting with the broomstick.”

Scott dabbled with a putter somewhat longer than three feet in length -- about the size of a belly bat -- and employed a stroke similar to the one he uses with the sternum model but without anchoring it to his body.

As he has in the past, Scott expressed frustration with those who oppose the way he, Keegan Bradley, and a host of PGA Tour golfers wield their long putters -- a debate that culminated in last week’s proposal from the USGA and R&A that almost certainly will prohibit anchored putting strokes starting in 2016. He said he hoped that the lawmakers were uniform in their rulings.

“I mean, all of a sudden they’ve changed their mind for whatever reason,” Scott told the PGA of Australia’s Martin Blake. “My view on the whole thing, overall, is if they’re going to make decisions like that, they be consistent like that philosophy throughout the whole game of golf. Then I’ll have no problem. I think it’s a very big call that they’ve made and only time will tell if it’s the right call for the game or not.’’

Scott echoed the sentiments of many players, who have noted that golf’s overseers should deal with issues of greater import than putting strokes.

“I think length is commonly acknowledged as the biggest problem in the game of golf, not just how far pros hit it, but how long courses are having to be built now,” Scott said. “That certainly has a massive impact on the industry: cost, time, all those things which are turning people away from the game.’’

As for how Scott will approach the looming ban, his decision was a work in progress.

”I don’t know, I’ll see, I’ll probably putt with the long putter,” he said. “The other one I’m messing around with, it was my first go and it’s just not quite what I wanted to do. It’s not quite set up right for me so I might have another go at that another time if I feel the need to.”