SOUTH AFRICAN TIM CLARK TAKING LEGAL ADVICE OVER BAN ON ANCHORING PUTTERS

FROM THE BBC SPORT.COM WEBSITE

South African Tim Clark says he is among "a fair number" of players taking legal advice over the ban on the anchoring of putters from 2016.

World golf's governing bodies, the R and A and the US Golf Association (USGA) said on Tuesday they had decided to impose the rule.
The ban will apply to any club rested against a part of the body, such as the broom-handle or the belly putter.
Clark said: "We do have legal counsel. We'll explore options. We're not going to just roll over and accept this."
The US PGA Tour has also said it is considering its options on the matter.

Rule 14-1b

In making a stroke, the player must not anchor the club, either "directly" or by use of an "anchor point."
Note 1: The club is anchored "directly" when the player intentionally holds the club or a gripping hand in contact with any part of his body, except that the player may hold the club or a gripping hand against a hand or forearm.
Note 2: An "anchor point" exists when the player intentionally holds a forearm in contact with any part of his body to establish a gripping hand as a stable point around which the other hand may swing the club.

The US Tour opposed the ban when it was first proposed last year and, following its confirmation on Tuesday, a statement said: "We will now begin our process to ascertain whether the various provisions of Rule 14-1b will be implemented in our competitions and, if so, examine the process for implementation.

"In this regard, over the next month we will engage in discussions with our Player Advisory Council and Policy Board members.
"We will announce our position regarding the application of Rule 14-1b to our competitions upon conclusion of our process."
A 90-day consultation process was allocated for comments and suggestions when the proposals were first unveiled in November last year.
The USGA dealt with about 2,200 individual responses, while the R and A received 450 replies from 17 countries.
Clark, 37, who earned a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour after winning the Players' Championship in 2010, dismissed the consultation period as "all smoke and mirrors".
At Tuesday's announcement of the ban, which takes effect from 1 January 2016, R and A chief executive Peter Dawson admitted to being concerned that players could file lawsuits.
"I very much hope not," he said. "I don't think lawsuits will be on particularly strong ground.
"We are not so sure of ourselves that you can always be sure you're going to be right, but we have certainly done our homework on this one, far more than anything else in my time at the R and A."