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Have any you pin pullers (via covid) now gotten use to leaving it in?

rollin said:
we can go on and on with the debate as we had done in other past threads. i think your both wrong and there are also experiments and opinions and experiences and logics that say otherwise. As for pros, its more a mental getting use to thing as well imo and also alot to do with tradition.

if hypothetically it was always that way or we continued to let it always be 100% in , I highly doubt anyone cap nor average scores are measurably significantly changing either way because of it. And fwiw still my opinion that either way makes no difference through a long body of work in the long term especially once gotten use to. .

And yes I can feel and do feel the other opinion is wrong. Im allowed to feel that way and make the blanket statement that it doesnt matter.
Others can disagree and still have thier opinion too. Just that imo if their opinion is based on anything more than just liking the pin a certain way then their opinion would be wrong imo.
But hey we can agree to disagree. Its still civil and good talk.
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And there you go, putting is more mental than any other aspect of the game but hey, you do you.
 
Phil75070 said:
I guess you could say I've gotten used to it. I've gotten used to putts being left short or rolling off to one side of the hole or the other as it gets there because it has changed me from an aggressive putter to one that feels he must die the ball in the hole with the flagstick in. :(
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That might be my issue as well. I've had to completely change the way I putt, I can't recall the last time I ran one by & I HATE dying it in the hole.
 
I want the pin out. It just doesn't "feel" right with the pin in. When playing alone, I may leave it in on long lags, but even then I seem to get a better feel of the green walking to and from the stick. Not sure if it actually helps my green reading (looking at my scores it does not) but I think the walk does.
 
Matthew said:
And there you go, putting is more mental than any other aspect of the game but hey, you do you.
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All i meant was that the flag in/out thing for some folks can be more a mental help/hurt more than an actual physical one. or perhaps better said the mental part of it for some can then cause the physical one to be better or worse. Thats a different reason for one wanting it in or out vs debating whether or not the stick has its own liabilities or assets.
 
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I like to putt with it out. Especially those slight breakering 3-7 ft putts that I want to hit firm to take out some of the break. I don't want to have to worry about it hitting the pin and bouncing off.
 
Nobody I have played with this year takes the pin out. Including me. In order for the ball to bounce out it would have to be approaching the pin like a freight train.
 
As soon as I’m allowed to take the pin out, it’s coming out. Confidence plays a role in my view here. I’m playing fine but I can tell that I’m more tentative with certain putts. Probably doesn’t change anything but it does in my head. With how mental this game is, anything that gives me more confidence, I’m going to do.
 
rollin said:
But hey we can agree to disagree. Its still civil and good talk.
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I find it amazing I can finish a post with the above quote and yet someone can leave a dislike tag on the post.

Dislike tags should be eliminated imo. Much rather have a tag that implies "appreciation but disagree" if one existed.

Dislike tag only work towards a negative forum and threads imo. Much rather just post the disagreement and give the conversation debate worthwhile substance as to why in a civil manor vs just offer a dislike. Imo its just a tag that offers nothing but to lessen the quality of a forum. But thats just my opinion.
 
I've always been a guy who it didn't matter if it was pulled or not. Last year I was leaving it in for longer putts but someone usually wanted it pulled for shorter stuff. Now that the ban is lifted a few guys in league have been pulling it and it felt a bit weird with it not in this year. I'm one who's been avoiding touching it so I just leave it in unless someone else wants to pull it.
 
rollin said:
based on some these responses I am hoping leaving it in becomes a must rule always.
Glad to see at least some former "remove the pin" folks have now converted.

As for telling me what it costed you, there is no way you can ever truly say one way out weighs the other. No matter whatever side you lean on, there is always a percentage of helping to negate a large percentage of the tiny percent you felt it hurt anyway. In other words saying its advantageous to a real measurable value degree is pointless and has no true merit other than it being a mental thing. And in that case, with due respect id suggest get over yourself and let things flow a bit smoother on the greens. But hey thats just me. And the many many others more who keep coming over to this side😉
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Golf Digest actually did an article last year with extensive testing that proved leaving the pin in resulted in less putts made: https://www.golfdigest.com/story/th...tick-should-be-pulled-999-percent-of-the-time. Good players can remove the pin and still maintain the same pace as those who leave it in.
 
Junkyard said:
Golf Digest actually did an article last year with extensive testing that proved leaving the pin in resulted in less putts made: https://www.golfdigest.com/story/th...tick-should-be-pulled-999-percent-of-the-time. Good players can remove the pin and still maintain the same pace as those who leave it in.
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yea we been through that one and there are sound arguments against the article and much of its logic as well and also other experiments and logics that show otherwise.
 
Almost 4 months and counting since we've had the option. No sign yet on how much longer. So it will be a while before I'll have any idea.
 
I'm preferring it out when I used to prefer it in.

But that's because my course installed those protective plastic bands that are inserted at the top of the cup. I understand that they're necessary to help guard against hole wear as golfers retrieve their ball with pin inserted.

But now with pin in, I've had more than a couple glance lightly off the stick, hit the lip of the insert and then bounce out. We're talking putts with pace to maybe go 6"-12" past the cup if they were to completely miss. Stuns me when it happens like that.

Ocurred enough that it got in my head so where I was once all for the pin in, now I want it out.
 
I loved the new flagstick rule but we had been pulling it out pre-COVID as there was always one or two guys that wanted it out. It wasn't worth the hassle to alternate.

I hope more guys get used to pin in going forward; I love it!
 
As of noon last Friday the sand bottles went back on the carts at my course so I'm assuming with no foam in the cups for a while now that pulling the pin is OK. I'll have to specifically ask. If it can be pulled it will be pulled for me for putts inside 10' for sure, maybe longer.
 
besides the whole better vs not thing........even if your now allowed to pull it, wouldnt you still want to take the covid precaution anyway? And not touch the flag which almost everyone does in about the same area.
Yea,,....I know, I know...........its not a big deal,... there are much worse things,... transmission on surfaces is minor,....its allowed so it must be ok,....etc,etc,etc,.
forget about comparing it to other things cause they are not relevant. Foget about suggesting to say ..."well then why even golf to begin with" again is not relevant. Bottom line is with covid still a dominating thing (even if of ) arguable concern, is pulling the pins really that so very important? At least until we get past this thing? I mean is really worth the risk however minor it might be? And that risk vs the minimal at best it might or might not help or hurt ones game? Are 5 cappers going to be 12 cappers because the pin cost them that many strokes via the ball hitting it and bouncing out. And honestly even if it did (which it wouldnt) ,......is that still more important than even a minor chance of contracting the virus? You have to pull the pin that desperately? Sorry ok do what you wish but I just dont get it.
 
Hand sanitizer if youre super worried about it or maybe grab the stick with a disinfecting wipe? Courses have been crowded so my assumption is those most worried are staying away.
 
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rollin said:
besides the whole better vs not thing........even if your now allowed to pull it, wouldnt you still want to take the covid precaution anyway? And not touch the flag which almost everyone does in about the same area.
Yea,,....I know, I know...........its not a big deal,... there are much worse things,... transmission on surfaces is minor,....its allowed so it must be ok,....etc,etc,etc,.
forget about comparing it to other things cause they are not relevant. Foget about suggesting to say ..."well then why even golf to begin with" again is not relevant. Bottom line is with covid still a dominating thing (even if of ) arguable concern, is pulling the pins really that so very important? At least until we get past this thing? I mean is really worth the risk however minor it might be? And that risk vs the minimal at best it might or might not help or hurt ones game? Are 5 cappers going to be 12 cappers because the pin cost them that many strokes via the ball hitting it and bouncing out. And honestly even if it did (which it wouldnt) ,......is that still more important than even a minor chance of contracting the virus? You have to pull the pin that desperately? Sorry ok do what you wish but I just dont get it.
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‘Rona or not, get that dang pin out of the cup. I’d rather have a cough for a day or two than bounce off another pin.
 
Before covid, I preferred leaving the pin in, so I'm definitely in the "leave it in" camp. I've always putted "die it in" way. Taking the pin out has always been an additional chore, it's easier to leave it in, putt and move on.
 
I’d prefer to remove it but not a big deal.

Part of my visualization involves imagining that wonderful sound of the ball hitting the bottom of the cup. It’s the last thing I “hear” before I pull the trigger.

So it’s a bit of a bummer to hear a less than satisfying “bonk” or “clank” instead.

But it’s not a problem. I choose not to touch the flagstick. If others want to remove it, fine. They can put it back, too.
 
Daddio said:
Hand sanitizer if youre super worried about it or maybe grab the stick with a disinfecting wipe? Courses have been crowded so my assumption is those most worried are staying away.
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thers a differnce between staying away all together vs playing yet doing so while respecting the virus situation via some simple things like leaving the flag. It doesnt have to be all or nothing at all. I know the odds are slim of contracting the virus via touching the same surfaces but it is a transmission possibility and is so easy not to do and in fact more work to actually pull it. Its like a built in precaution that requires nothing at all to be done yet Its just kind of mind-boggling that some folks have to make the effort to remove that precaution.
Think for a moment.....do nothing (make no pin efforts) at all and help maintain better virus scenario, or make efforts to add a worse virus scenario. Pulling the pins and making the extra effort to do so even outweighs the importance of that contracting possibility vs doing nothing at all and keeping things a tad safer? I mean for some folks it needs to be pulled that desperately? Ok but wow is all i got.:confused2:
 
I now jam every putt against the flagstick every chance I get. Really ticks off my playing partners, but screw them. They're the ones who pressed.
 
golfunfiltered said:
I now jam every putt against the flagstick every chance I get. Really ticks off my playing partners, but screw them. They're the ones who pressed.
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why would you hitting the stick with your putts annoy any of your partners or anyone at all? Not sure I get how that could bother anyone.
 
Matthew said:
‘Rona or not, get that dang pin out of the cup. I’d rather have a cough for a day or two than bounce off another pin.
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i agree, pulling the pin aside, the fear mongering with this virus is out of control. If you are worried about contacting it from the flagstick, stay home.
 
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