Glover: No shoes, no spikes, no problem
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Lucas Glover doffed his shoes on the 10th green in 3M Open to make a point about spike marks (Golf Channel)
Lucas Glover has never been one to shy away from saying what is on his mind. But his recent foray into PGA Tour governance had some concerned that he might be muzzled.
Apparently we need not worry.
At age 45 — and having been on the PGA Tour for nearly 25 years — Glover could probably do without the leadership headache. But earlier this year he accepted a spot on the PGA Tour’s Player Advisory Council and next year he will assume a spot on the PGA Tour Policy Board alongside Tiger Woods and others.
Glover might not always be expected to toe the company line, and his actions during the final round of the 3M Open perhaps offer a clue.
On Sunday at TPC Twin Cities, Glover was told by a rules official that players behind his group had complained that he was tearing up the greens with his metal spikes. Although most golf course now ban them and require spikeless shoes, the metal spikes are allowed for pros at some tour venues, and Glover is among several players who still use that type of golf shoe.
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In response to the complaint on the 10th green, Glover decided after holing his 10 foot birdie putt that he’d take off his shoes before taking his ball out of the cup. He walked to the edge the green, left his shoes there walk to the hole to retrieve his ball. The video was shown on Golf Channel’s pre-game show, and there was originally a narrative that he was doing that to call out the practice of players who use the AimPoint putt reading technique, where they often stradle the line of their putts near the hole to feel and judge the slope with their feet.
Glover set the record straight about the real reason for his demonstrative shoe-shedding protest was simply to make a different point. And he was none too pleased that a rules official alerted him to the issue that his spikes were marring the softened greens during the 3M Open.
Glover explained his motivattion in a social media post on Monday that several times made mention of the fact that players are now permitted to tamp down and repair spike marks.
