Putting with the flagstick in. Yes or no?

[BigMac]

I'm honestly surprised at how many people voted "In" so far. I figured there would be a lot more purists who still pulled flagsticks.

 

[rumstove]

In. I'm too lazy. Since covid I don't think there's been a choice here.

 

[dthogey]

I never pull the pin anymore.

 

[USAF Retired]

In. Just saves so much time!

 

[Outthere]

In for me, if someone in my group wants it out, go ahead and take it out. My wife actually putts better with it in.

 

[Jman]

I like stick in, but, I hate pool noodles. Had three girls have pretty tamely paced putts pop out of the cup because of it at our tournament on Monday. No tournament or course rule on it, pretty dumb.

 

[tahoebum]

I’ll pull it for every putt inside 10 feet or if it’s windy. The biggest downside since the flagstick rule change two years ago us the number of damaged holes has gone up about 10x from before the rule change. Guys either have fat fingers or are careless when removing their ball from the hole. It’s not uncommon that I spend a minute or two now each round trying to repair the edge of a few holes to make it better for the golfers behind me. It’s no longer just ball marks that need fixing on the greens especially on public courses.

 

[Scorp]

I prefer it out but just leave it in

 

[Buster1]

The biggest downside since the flagstick rule change two years ago us the number of damaged holes has gone up about 10x from before the rule change. Guys either have fat fingers or are careless when removing their ball from the hole. It’s not uncommon that I spend a minute or two now each round trying to repair the edge of a few holes to make it better for the golfers behind me.

Weird. I’ve actually witnessed guys replacing the flagstick and smashing the end of it into the soft side of the hole, or lip. My impression is that carelessness with flag replacement is more prevalent and thus leaving the flag IN is better for a less damaged cup/hole.

 

[RealPretendPsychic]

Once allowed again, I will be removing the flagstick when I putt.

 

[Greg Kulbick]

I like stick in, but, I hate pool noodles. Had three girls have pretty tamely paced putts pop out of the cup because of it at our tournament on Monday. No tournament or course rule on it, pretty dumb.

Any noodle that isn't down at least the depth of a ball is stupid.

 

[captaincaution]

Any noodle that isn't down at least the depth of a ball is stupid.

I played a few times last year where the hole was full of water and the noodle floated above the top of the hole. I was a fan of a small length of pvc pipe in the bottom.

 

[Ghost21]

We've been required to leave it in over here for the past 12 months. I was already doing so beforehand though and will likely continue.

Happy having it out as well though tbh if others in the group prefer.

 

[tahoebum]

Weird. I’ve actually witnessed guys replacing the flagstick and smashing the end of it into the soft side of the hole, or lip. My impression is that carelessness with flag replacement is more prevalent and thus leaving the flag IN is better for a less damaged cup/hole.

I'm starting to see signs like this one next to greens, so it's definitely a problem at the courses I play in Minnesota and Florida. I've played golf since 1978, and until two years ago, I rarely saw more than one damaged hole per round. Since the flagstick in rule, I often see 4 or 5 damaged holes each round unless I'm playing early in the morning.

 

[BlueHen2006]

I really don’t care either way and won’t put it back or remove it when it’s my turn as it’s not a big deal in my mind. Now if it’s pulled already and someone asks for it to go back for the most part I’ll do it but if the distance is somewhat “short”, I’ll direct him to do it himself. I’m not his caddy and it ain’t the tour

 

[Noonan...Danny]

After the 4 that bounced off the pin on Monday, OUT!

 

[Canadan]

I'll allow putting from big distance with the pin in - the ones I doubt I'll make.

I still refuse to putt anything I think has more than a 5% chance of going in with the pin in - That damn thing has rejected my ball so many times.

 

[Drumdog]

I hate the pin in the hole on any put shorter than 20 feet. This season I will pull the pin whether they want it left in or not.

 

[KingsKraken]

Never cared either way.

 

[tommyhaka]

I never pull the pin anymore.

In. Just saves so much time!

I prefer it out but just leave it in

Interesting comments, and I can go either way and generally let the others decide. Although, if I had my choice I would prefer out for the putts inside 10 feet, and actually prefer it in for outside 10 feet. The game might just adopt the 'leave it in' method to save time and, an aspect that hasn't been mentioned in here, I don't think, is the idea of green damage it may cause. Golfers often get a little careless with the removal/insertion process and damage the green. Damage that I have noticed is around the edge of the cup especially when putting the flag back into the hole.

 

[mulegolf]

I'm now used to having the pin in the cup while putting. The only exception for me is if the pin is leaning in a way that restricts the likelyhood of the ball going into the hole.

 

[Nerdy]

In for long. Out for short.

Once that's allowed again

 

[jdtox]

I don't mind it in for longer putts but I had it keep a few out last year on shorter ones so I pull it whenever possible.