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As of the 1st of January 2016, anchoring of a club is banned in golf. Ok by club I mean putter but I am simply trying to be politically correct.

Part of the reasoning behind the ban is, and I quote "diminish the fundamental challenges of the game"

Ok I may have taken a wee bit of a poetic licence there but given the subject matter I am not the first nor will I be the last.

Those of us who have never used, or needed to use a belly/long putter cheered! As we basically seen it as being an unfair advantage to bad putters. The authorities though basically played the "against the spirit of the game" card to ban it.

Perhaps the R&A or USGA could explain to me why players getting lined up on the tee or the fairways does not "diminish the fundamental challenges of the game" ??

Surely having the ability to line yourself up is a fundamental part of golf?

Which is the bigger cheat? Long putters or getting lined up? Or are both cheating? Come 2016 one will be so why not the other?

If you play professional golf surely you should be able to line yourself up?

If you are a regular watcher of the LPGA tour chances you will spend more time watching players getting lined up than actually playing shots. I honestly think that rounds on the LPGA would be easily 30 minutes quicker if this was banned.

Alignment should be part of a players skill and ability, as much as driving, iron shots or putting.

Having your caddy say to you "aim for the left of of that bunker" is ok but to have them physically stand behind you and tell you when you are aiming to the right point is simply ludicrous, in fact it's pathetic!

If the R&A and USGA are trying to protect the integrity of the game then this needs banned more so than anchoring! It's against the spirit and ethics of the game and it slows play down to a snails pace.

Could you imagine a football player getting lined up by a teammate for taking a penalty? A basketball player getting lined up for a free shot? An NFL kicker getting lined up by a kicking coach? No! Never in a million years.

So why the hell is it still allowed in golf?

And while I am at it, ban lines on the golf ball too! Why in heavens name do you need a line drawn on a golf ball? Surely that's an "artificial" aid too?

Coaching of players during a competitive round is already banned. Could we simply not ban lining up by classifying it as coaching a player? Because in affect it is coaching someone on alignment is it not?