One of the most unique putters on the market is the Tru Roll putter. This putter is cylindrical in shape and closely resembles a croquet mallet. While this putter may be very fun to look at and use, it may actually be considered illegal to use.
Tru Roll putters are not legal according to USGA Equipment Rules. In order to be considered legal, a putter must have at least one flat striking face. Because a Tru Roll putter is cylindrical with no flat putting face, it does not comply with the USGA rules.
Why Are Tru Roll Putters Illegal?
A putter must follow a long list of rules in order to be considered legal. In fact, there are many equipment rules that were specifically made for putters and not any other type of club. There are actually 2 rules that a Tru Roll putter breaks that make it an illegal putter.
Rule #1
The first rule that a Tru Roll putter breaks has to do with the amount of striking faces a putter must have. The USGA states that a putter must have some type of flat striking face which makes contact with the golf ball.
- The area is flat and it is clearly designed to be used for striking the ball
- it is opposite the intended face and consists of a flat surface of a different loft and/or material;
- it is a flat surface on the toe and/or heel of a cylindrical, rectangular or square head design which could effectively be used to strike the ball
- it could otherwise effectively be used to strike the ball
The Tru Roll has a round putter head that does not have any flat face. Essentially, a putter must have a distinct flat face in order to be considered legal. If it does not have a flat face, then the USGA does not consider it legal.
Rule #2
The second rule that Tru Roll putters break how it diverges from the vertical plane. It sounds a bit complicated but basically what it means is that if a putter is usable when it is tilted more than 10 degrees backwards or 20 degrees forwards, it is illegal. This is because when you angle your putter like this, you are no longer putting, you are just pushing/pulling the ball.
The motion of pushing or pulling the golf ball strays pretty far away from the traditional putting motion, and puts those whose putters cant tilt that far neither direction at a big disadvantage, which is ultimately why it is illegal to use.
The image above shows the range that you are allowed to tilt your putter. These parameters are mainly in place to restrict ‘croquet style’ putters (which are very similar to Tru Roll putters) from being used. If a putter is still usable while exceeding this range, then it is illegal.
To give you a better idea of what I meant before by the pushing/pulling motion, here is an image that better illustrates the prohibited motion. The putter in the image is able to tilt at such an angle where it is able to push the ball. This pushing motion is restricted.
