In or Out?

[Robiola the Monster]

When putting from the fringe do you prefer to have the pin (flag) left in or taken out?

[PiKapp23]

I always leave the pin in when I am off the putting surface, either putting or chipping. I saw The Golf Channel show "Playing Lessons from the Pros" a couple years ago Justin Leonard was talking about that very subject and he is a big believer in leaving it in, saying that with the modern flag being much thinnger than old flags he thinks it helps more often than it hurts, especially if you hit the ball 'hot'. I've had times where it helped and times where it hurt (but those are less frequent). My PGA pro father believes in always leaving it in and says he believes on fast greens it can be even more important. He thinks professionals could benefit by leaving it in because of the speed of greens in professional golf and the fact that most of their chips and putts from off green are on target, but often with too much speed.

[Dub]

I leave it in as much as possible....heck...I wish I could leave it in when putting, too.

[Chief Broom]

I leave it in as much as possible....heck...I wish I could leave it in when putting, too.

I usually leave the pin in putting when playing by myself. I always walk and even if I don't have groups behind me I just don't want to take the time to pull the pin in order to hole out and move on. When I'm playing with someone though I always pull the pin. Not only is this following the rules, but it's just easier. When going on the green everyone takes up their station around their putt and the closest person to the pin pulls it (or offers to tend it) as everyone else gets ready to putt. By myself though sometimes the pin is a good distance away from me and I don't want to take the time to walk over and pull the pin and then go back and begin to set up my putt. To be honest though it might actually behoove me to take that extra step because when playing by myself I have a bad habit of rushing and not taking enough time setting up my shots with putts being the worst offender.

[LottaBalata]

If there's a chance it would just fly right over the hole. . .downhill, fast, yeah, I def. leave the pin in. If the sun casts a weird shadow with the flag and obstructs how I see the green, I will probably pull the flag.

[Fourputt]

It depends. If it's a fast putt where a backstop might help then I leave it in. If it's a slow uphill putt, then I usually pull the flagstick. If there is a stiff breeze then I factor in which way the stick is leaning... if it's leaning toward me, or toward the direction the ball will be coming from at the hole, then I pull it.

[zeg]

Pelz did a write-up of a study over at www.golf.com a while back and concluded that it's virtually always in your interest to leave it in. So I leave it in if I can.

When by myself, I usually pull the flag and take the opportunity to circle the line of the putt to read the break. It doesn't help any, but it feels like a good habit to eventually improve green-reading.

[Rusty2228]

I usually leave it in, because my shots come out a little "hot" sometimes.

I had an interesting thing happen to me Sunday when it was really windy. I was chipping from just off and I hit it way too hard, the ball was right at the flag stick and the wind was blowing the flag straight out. The ball hit the actual flag and dropped to three feet. If it wasn't there or wasn't windy, I might still be looking for the ball.

[Fat Slice]

I leave it in, always. That way I don't think about it or have any nagging doubts about my decision. I like to concentrate 100% on the break and speed and not worry about anything else. So, for that reason, the pin stays in - always!

[bogeyhitter25]

I will always leave the flag in.

[telrod11]

Pelz did a write-up of a study over at

This is interesting and news to me. I was always taught, as some have already mentioned, that the flag stays in on downhillers, and out on uphillers. HE's pretty good with teh stats, so maybe I need to leave it in, huh?

[zeg]

This is interesting and news to me. I was always taught, as some have already mentioned, that the flag stays in on downhillers, and out on uphillers. HE's pretty good with teh stats, so maybe I need to leave it in, huh?

Here's the link

http://www.golf.com/golf/instruction...565294,00.html . . . He does point out that in the case that the flag is leaning so far over that the ball won't fit in, then you obviously should take out. But that's pretty rare, at least where I play.

[Big Padrigo]

I made a 25 footer at the weekend from off the green with the flag in, so I think I'm going to keep that habit. For the record it was a downhiller.

[telrod11]

Here's the link

Thnaks for that article link; This one goes in teh vault....

[TommyD69]

in!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Shanks-a-lot]

I keep it in as well...I remember hearing or reading somewhere (don't remember where) that it benefited to keep the flag in so that's what I've always gone with when putting/chipping from the fringe.

[Stacey_E]

I leave it in 95% of the time.

The only exception is when I'm in a tight match and the shot is relatively short and not downhill. I love the look on my opponent's face when I say "you can pull the pin". I don't needle other players in any way, so I figure this is one way to get a mental one-up, as silly as it may sound. I want my opponent to know I'm confident in my game today and I'm trying to hole everything.

[GolferDot]

I tend to pull it out putting or chipping just off the green. For me it is like a mental block having the pin in the hole.