Lucas Glover on Thursday at the American Express Championships.
twitter.com
He made the slam dunk. And there are no photos, as they say, in the scorecard, but a five-second video clip struck a chord.
Just like here:
And here:
And on and on. Could you Google “Lucas Glover putt” or Search on Twitter Same topic for more. Despite the wealth of information, you may be asking yourself this:
What is this?
Technically, this is easy! It was a 3-foot putt by 2009 US Open winner Lucas Glover during Thursday’s first round of the tournament. American Express Competition. But as you can see – perhaps – there is more. Or is it less? On the putt, Glover retrieved his blade again with a quick wrist flip, then moved it forward with another flip, and his ball rolled in.
Although now you may have more questions…
Has Lucas Glover been put this way before?
yes, Most notably in last year’s Honda Classicas it was recorded and shared online much like this week’s situation, and you can take a look at that below.
Is it legal?
On Hit Honda, we dug into this. In short, yes, and Here’s what we wrote:
Under Rule 10.1you’ll see “Stroke” defined as follows:
The stroke is made by striking somewhat with the ball with the head of the club. The primary challenge is to direct and control the movement of the entire club by swinging the club freely without clamping it.
In the associated language under 10.1a/1the rules specify three methods that do not constitute a “hit”:
This eyebrow-raising stroke was almost illegal — which is why it wasn’t
Luke Kerr Dineen
– A player punches a short putt by hitting the ball with the bottom of the club head, using a motion similar to that used to strike a ball in billiards or shuffleboard. Move the ball like this push.
– the player moves the club along the surface of the earth and pulls it towards it. Moving the ball in this way is a scratch.
– The player slides a racket under the ball and very close to the ball. Then the player lifts and moves the ball using a forward and up motion. Moving the ball like this is a scoop.
Which brings us back to Glover. After dropping Honda, a small group of commentators on social media speculated that the hit was more of a push, which should have constituted a one-shot penalty. And although it may look like this to the naked eye, when you slow down the video, you can see the smallest background oscillations. You can also see Glover’s arms moving (slightly), implying that this was a legitimate stroke by the rules of golf, half and square.
why?
It’s a step yip. Golf Digest Luke Kerr-Dineen expertly notes which Glover has put “traditionally” on at least two other occasions on American Express Thursdays, and the question asked was an anomaly. Although it was at least under Some control. After all, there was this one from Glover:
Of course, it wasn’t always like that. Glover was a world class player. Besides winning the Open Championship, he also won the 2005 Funai Classic and the 2011 Wells Fargo Championship. But then golf got into his head, because that’s what golf does.
But Glover worked at it, like Nicely described by Michael Bamberger here. And Glover won again, in 2021 at the John Deere Classic.
However, there is a quote in Bamberger’s article, that perhaps sums up our question better. It comes from Glover’s agent, Mac Barnhardt.
“You can’t heal from springs—everyone has them. But you can reduce them.”
And on Thursday, Glover hit the ball.
