Etiquette? How do you tend the Flagstick?

[Fourputt]

Just wondering. There was a post on another thread about whether men or women use better etiquette on the course, and this is sort of a pet peeve for me. I was taught the proper way to tend the flagstick in caddy training when I was 12, and even though it wasn't until many years later that I started playing golf, that early training stuck.

I'll post later on how I was taught to do it.

 

[Sean]

First, I make sure my shadow is on the other side of the hole and does not overshadow the hole. I take the pin out and hold it inside the hole but not straight up and down (so I don't encounter any problem pulling the pin out). The arm not holding the pin is behind my back, and I stand away and back from the hole while holding the pin. I keep my feet together and stand very still.

I think that's everything I do.

 

[Diane]

Fourputt - I was taught that the person who is closest pulls it and lays it gently on the green away from where anyone could putt. The person who putts out first replaces it. If they pick it up before everyone is finished putting - they hold it upside down or hold the flag to the stick so it doesn't flap around. Other than that - I'm not sure what you're asking.

 

[C-Tech]

When I am asked to tend the flag, I first stand as far away as comfortable while holding the flag perpendicular to the ground. I check that the flagstick is not stuck in the bottom of the hole, and pull it out partially so it doesn't stick if I need to pull it after the stroke.

I insure that I am not casting a shadow over the hole or line of putt and I also stand erect with my offside arm either at my side or behind my back. I am careful not to step on someone else's line while doing the tending.

Right or wrong, that is my technique.

 

[Harry Longshanks]

If I am closest to the pin (i.e., last to putt) and no one wants it tended, I pull the pin and carry it to the fringe and lay it down.

If someone wants it tended, I pull the pin out of the center of the cup and rest it on the bottom of the cup, up against the back wall. If the wind is blowing, I grip the flag around the pin so it doesn't flutter. Once the putt is struck, I wait until the ball is about halfway to the hole, then I pull the pin completely and lay it down out of the way.

If I am first to hole out, I put my putter away, then pick up the flagstick (again, holding the flag so it doesn't flutter) and wait for the last person to putt out. Then I replace it.

No clue is this is the generally accepted etiquette though.

 

[Smallville]

I stand on the "shade side" so my shadow has less chance to be in the line. I pull the pin out of the hole at the bottom of the cup so it doesn't get stuck as their ball is coming to the cup. Sometimes I will hold it right where it came out, sometimes I hold it in the cup, but at the back edge of the cup away from the person putting. I pull it after they hit it. I'll ask if anyone else needs it before I lay the pin down on the green. I think that's all I do.

 

[Smallville]

Looks like everyone does about the same thing, pretty much.

 

[Fourputt]

Looks like everyone does about the same thing, pretty much.

Yes, and that is unusual, because it isn't what I see most of the time on the course. :confused2:

 

[Harry Longshanks]

I have to admit, until I read some of the posts, I hadn't thought about the shadow thing. I'll pay more attention to that now. Not that it's an issue this time of year in my hood.

 

[Smallville]

We also try to get the pin out of the hole and not have to put it back in until we are ready to leave the green. Sometimes that means the guy who is closer to the pin but not on the green yet, goes ahead and hits. There are exceptions, of course, but usually we play that way.

 

[Fourputt]

Here's how I was taught. Approach the hole in such a way that you don't infringe on anyone's line. That can be hard with 4 players on the green, but I do the best I can. I always gather up the bunting so that it won't hang loose or flap and distract the players. I stand so that my shadow is not on the hole or on the line of putt for the player who is putting. I pull the flagstick out of the socket and angle it back away from the player so that I'm as far away from the hole as possible. Once the putt is rolling I remove the flagstick and step away from the hole. If anyone else needs it I replace it in the hole and start the process over again. If not, then I lay it down gently well away from the action, in a place where it will not bother any player or possibly be hit by a putted ball.

If I'm the first to putt out, I will almost always pick up the stick and again hold the bunting so it can't flap and stand away from the hole until all players have holed out, then replace it in the hole, making certain that it is fully seated.

What I usually see: the tender not holding the bunting; not loosening the flagstick from the socket then fighting to remove it while the ball threatens to hit it (which would be a penalty on the player who is putting); leaving the stick in the socket and bending the staff back (can only be done with fiberglass flagsticks, and it splinters the stick right at the bottom where it meets the metal plug); laying the flagstick down 3 feet behind the hole where it is most likely to be hit by a putted ball????; dropping the flagstick on the putting green instead of laying it down gently; picking the flagstick up and again letting the bunting flap while waiting to replace it; hovering over the hole while waiting to replace it while I address a nasty 4 foot putt (I'd rather you did nothing at all than do this); not seating the flagstick properly in the socket before walking away (I've stood in the fairway and watched the flagstick fall over onto the green as we were playing our approach shots ).

 

[Sean]

THAT'S what I forget to mention...I hold the flag as well so it doesn't flap around, AND I avoid stepping in anyone's line (though on some the greens I play on it wouldn't make any difference!).

 

[TheGasman]

I think everyone covered the way I do it. I learned most of my flagstick etiquette from trial and error, ie.. getting yelled at by my buddies. The one that always annoys me is when the person tending the pin for you cant stand still. I usually just always tell them to yank it so I dont have to deal with it.

 

[StLCardsFan]

One additional thing to mention that I don't think was brought up yet, watch the through line. Meaning you don't want to stand in a place wherein if the ball goes past the hole, it will have to be putted back over the footprints you just made from standing in one spot for several seconds.

 

[Ty_Webb]

One additional thing to mention that I don't think was brought up yet, watch the through line. Meaning you don't want to stand in a place wherein if the ball goes past the hole, it will have to be putted back over the footprints you just made from standing in one spot for several seconds.

That's also why as fourputt said you stand as far away from the hole as possible (without the stick resting against the edge of the hole) so that you minimise the risk of someone else having to putt through your footprints.

The other thing I'd say is if it's windy and you're pulling the flag out, grab the flag before you pull it out because otherwise as you pull it out, the wind gets it and can knock the base into the lip of the hole, which is not good.

On a slightly different note, I was playing with a friend of mine and as we left the 5th green where he'd just replaced the flag, he said to me "how much does one of these flagsticks weigh?" I had no idea, so I said "no idea". He said "well, if you ever picked one of them up from time to time, perhaps you might". A bloody cheek if you ask me because I normally do more than my fair share of the flag removal/returning.

 

[GenErr]

I think the above posts cover the subject. For most of us, "flag stick" etiquette is probably second nature by now. However, if I was a golf newbie reading this thread, I'd be darn skeptical about tending the flag if anyone asked me to do it. Too much to think and worry about! LOL

 

[Diane]

Ok - I'm trying to imagine myself tending the flagstick and I don't think my arms are long enough to hold the flag from flapping around. I'd be reaching up and then pulling out - it would be very awkward for me.

 

[Smallville]

Ok - I'm trying to imagine myself tending the flagstick and I don't think my arms are long enough to hold the flag from flapping around. I'd be reaching up and then pulling out - it would be very awkward for me.

Then do it as Fourputt suggested. You should be able to hold the flag easily that way.

I always gather up the bunting so that it won't hang loose or flap and distract the players. I stand so that my shadow is not on the hole or on the line of putt for the player who is putting. I pull the flagstick out of the socket and angle it back away from the player so that I'm as far away from the hole as possible.

You'll probably have to grab the flag after angling the pin back!

 

[Diane]

Then do it as Fourputt suggested. You should be able to hold the flag easily that way.
You'll probably have to grab the flag after angling the pin back!

You're not much taller than I am so if you can reach - I probably can too, but I have short arms.

 

[bik33]

Another thing that bugs me, is often you can avoid the whole issue of tending the flag if you simply ask the person with the longest putt if they want it tended. Then you can just pull it most of the time and not worry about it. Another thing that seems to commonly happen, someone has a long putt, but another a short chip, when the putt is away. If I'm chipping, I want the pin in, and you usually have to go back in put it in your self because nobody is paying attention.

And clonking the pin down on the green is a huge pet peeve, along with people who don't fix ball marks.

 

[JPsuff]

Here's how I was taught. Approach the hole in such a way that you don't infringe on anyone's line. That can be hard with 4 players on the green, but I do the best I can. I always gather up the bunting so that it won't hang loose or flap and distract the players. I stand so that my shadow is not on the hole or on the line of putt for the player who is putting. I pull the flagstick out of the socket and angle it back away from the player so that I'm as far away from the hole as possible. Once the putt is rolling I remove the flagstick and step away from the hole. If anyone else needs it I replace it in the hole and start the process over again. If not, then I lay it down gently well away from the action, in a place where it will not bother any player or possibly be hit by a putted ball.

That's exactly how my father (a former caddy) taught me to do it forty-one years ago (and that's exactly how I do it today).

Way to go dad!


-JP

 

[Smallville]

Another thing that seems to commonly happen, someone has a long putt, but another a short chip, when the putt is away. If I'm chipping, I want the pin in, and you usually have to go back in put it in your self because nobody is paying attention.

I mentioned that earlier. We usually go ahead and chip, even if you aren't away. If you're gambling, there could be reasons not to do it that way, but in a friendly game, it shouldn't matter. Or you could decide ahead that off the green goes first if they want the pin in.

 

[bik33]

I mentioned that earlier. We usually go ahead and chip, even if you aren't away. If you're gambling, there could be reasons not to do it that way, but in a friendly game, it shouldn't matter. Or you could decide ahead that off the green goes first if they want the pin in.

Problem is, with my usual foursome, we almost always have some money on it. I just need to do some work making sure they understand my preferences. Or make a solid "chip first" rule. So I guess i'm just being whiny :arrogant:

 

[Fourputt]

One additional thing to mention that I don't think was brought up yet, watch the through line. Meaning you don't want to stand in a place wherein if the ball goes past the hole, it will have to be putted back over the footprints you just made from standing in one spot for several seconds.

That is a good practice, but can be difficult to do when you have 4 players on the green putting from all four points of the compass. It can be difficult enough just avoiding the actual line without extending it very far beyond. The way I do it by angling the flagstick back, if they get the ball within 3 feet of the hole, generally it isn't a problem. If they bang the ball 8 feet past... well then sometimes they just have to deal with it.

I won't intentionally stand in the runout area, but I'll show more concern for all 4 players' primary putting lines. With 4 players on the green, the area around the hole could be cut into 8 no stand zones... That can get a bit tricky. :confused2: