‘Stupid’ – Phil Mickelson and Justin Thomas Slam the USGA and R&A’s New Club Length Rule

The governing bodies of golf, USGA and R&A, recently introduced a new club length rule. And according to this, no club except putter can be longer than 46 inches. Moreover, they will implement this rule from January 1, 2022. Meanwhile, PGA Tour’s prominent golfers Justin Thomas and Phil Mickelson have given their opinion on the implementation of this new club length rule. 

Justin Thomas is currently at the Summit Club in Las Vegas, preparing for the CJ Cup. And earlier today, in the pre-round press conference, he expressed his views about this controversial rule while Phil Mickelson, as usual, made a tweet. So let us see what exactly are these two players thinking about the new club length rule. 

“There’s a lot of other things,” says Justin Thomas

During the pre-round press conference, a journalist asked Justin Thomas about his views on the club length rule. And according to Ron Mintz, this is what he said, “I don’t really agree with it. I feel like there’s a lot of other things, you know, like the armbar putter that they should be approaching, as opposed to the length of driver.” 

JT is evidently not in favor of this new club length capping, which is only going to affect the drivers. Moreover, he talked about the armbar putting, which is nothing but arm lock putting. In arm lock putting, a player locks the top of his grip against the inside of his arm. Moreover, Bryson DeChambeau is a prominent name who uses this kind of putter and putting technique. 

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Meanwhile, few people say this provides an added advantage while putting. Hence, JT believes that USGA and R&A should look into those things rather than tinkering with something like the length of the driver. 

Phil Mickelson lashes out at the governing bodies 

The 2021 PGA Champion Phil Mickelson made a tweet just like he did previously when the initial rumors were coming in August. “Stupid is as stupid does. Mrs. Gump,” tweeted Phil. “Really, though, are the amateurs trying their best to govern the professional game, the stupid ones? Or the professionals for letting them?”

He seemed totally disappointed about this new club length rule, as he had previously explained the reason for it. Phil himself uses a 47.5 inches driver, and going by the rules, he would need to reduce the length to at least 46 inches. However, by doing so, we might not see any bombs off the tee anymore from the lefty as the reduced driver length might affect his swing and power.

So do you agree with what Phil Mickelson and Justin Thomas have said? Or do you still believe USGA and R&A have made the right decision? Do let us know. 

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