Will your anchor hold?

Well, it will for another nine months. On January 1 2016, the ban on the anchored method of putting will come into force. The clock is ticking and Adam Scott knows it. Rather like trying to give up smoking, though, Scott is finding it a hard habit to kick. The 34-year-old Australian, who utilised the long putter on his way to winning the 2013 Masters, began the weaning off process recently and finished fourth in the WGC Cadillac Championship at Doral with a short putter. A couple of shaky results after that, however, has led to him going back to the soon to be outlawed stick. The sense of relief was a bit like taking a big draw on a fag. "It's very, very easy," he said of the transition back to the controversial method of getting a dimpled ball into a hole. "It's what I've been doing for four years and to go back was a piece of cake. I'm coming into a major. I'm not here to throw balls up in the air and see where they fall. I want to make sure I give myself the best chance to perform at the highest level in order to be able to win."

Scott's focus is on success in the short term. In the long term, however, he is going to have to rummage around and find something to do the job. Once the four majors are over this season, there will be a major decision to make. "At the moment, I see myself putting with the long putter at all the majors," added Scott of a stroke that sits uncomfortably with golfing traditionalists. "This doesn't mean I won't work on other things and develop some alternative method. I've got time up my sleeve but I need to build confidence going into next year. It's a bit of a process."