Another Flag Question

[Zippo]

I’ve seen some people putt to the hole with the flag in and, when the ball drops, grab the flag stick and yank it upwards to get the ball out of the hole instead of reaching in to get their ball.  I saw one fellow jerk the stick out and the cup came with it. He quickly and sheepishly put the cup and flag back. 
I always thought that it might cause damage to the hole by doing that but now I wonder if reaching into the hole with the flag stick in doesn’t also possibly damage the hole. 

What do you think?

Edited February 21, 2022 by Zippo

[DaveP043]

25 minutes ago, Zippo said:

I’ve seen some people putt to the hole with the flag in and, when the ball drops, grab the flag stick and yank it upwards to get the ball out of the hole instead of reaching in to get their ball.  I saw one fellow jerk the stick out and the cup came with it. He quickly and sheepishly put the cup and flag back. 
I always thought that it might cause damage to the hole by doing that but now I wonder if reaching into the hole with the flag stick in doesn’t also possibly damage the hole. 

What do you think?

Of the two, I think reaching (gently) with your hand has must less potential to damage the edge of the hole, compared with yanking the flagstick out in order to pop the ball out too.

[Zippo]

2 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

Of the two, I think reaching (gently) with your hand has must less potential to damage the edge of the hole, compared with yanking the flagstick out in order to pop the ball out too.

I gather you’ve seen that as well?

[Piz]

One would think that flag stick design would have changed by now.  It would be a simple matter to do so.

[ChetlovesMer]

1 hour ago, Zippo said:

I’ve seen some people putt to the hole with the flag in and, when the ball drops, grab the flag stick and yank it upwards to get the ball out of the hole instead of reaching in to get their ball.  I saw one fellow jerk the stick out and the cup came with it. He quickly and sheepishly put the cup and flag back. 
I always thought that it might cause damage to the hole by doing that but now I wonder if reaching into the hole with the flag stick in doesn’t also possibly damage the hole. 

What do you think?

Man, I remember playing with my old man and because he used a blade-ish putter he would dip the toe of his putter into the hole and twirl it up to and then pull up to get the ball out. Half the time, he'd make a gauge 1/4 to 1/3 the circumference of the hole. I cringed the first two times I saw him do it. Then, I told him "I'll get the ball out for you." After that round I got him one of those do-hickeys to put on the end of his putter to pick the ball out of the hole. 

[boogielicious]

12 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

he'd make a gauge 1/4 to 1/3 the circumference of the hole.

Did the gauge gouge the hole?😜

[Club Rat]

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I think there is a rule which penalizes a player who lifts the stick to remove the ball?

"do-hickeys" @ChetlovesMer   Nice, but that term is used lightly for many items...  LOL

 

[DaveP043]

37 minutes ago, Club Rat said:

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I think there is a rule which penalizes a player who lifts the stick to remove the ball?

I'm pretty sure there's not.  

[Club Rat]

11 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

I'm pretty sure there's not. 

Guessing you are always correct. 

But I did stubble upon this article which could lead to another infraction using this manner.
It is permissible to use the flagstick to get my ball out of the hole?
 

A woman posted this question.

Quote

I have a bad back, so I pull the ball from the hole using the flag. In a recent match, my opponent said this was a penalty and that I lost the hole. We called the pro, and he agreed it was a penalty. Were they right?

Answer from website.

Quote

As to legality, the answer is: Your opponent and pro were both wrong. While your ball retrieval technique is strongly discouraged, the only potential penalty would be disqualification under Rule 1.2(a) for Serious Misconduct, which would only come into the picture if you repeatedly damaged cup after cup after being asked to stop using the flag as a scoop.

 

[DaveP043]

12 minutes ago, Club Rat said:

Guessing you are always correct. 

HAHAHAHAHA, I guess you've never met my wife, she'll tell you the opposite.

But yeah, 1.2 offers some ability to discipline a player for "serious misconduct".  I suppose it might also be possible to include this in a Code of Conduct, but I've never seen that done.

[iacas]

1 hour ago, Club Rat said:

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I think there is a rule which penalizes a player who lifts the stick to remove the ball?

Nope.

[saevel25]

I try not to do something that damages the course. In the past, I have done this trick to pull the flag out fast to get the ball out. 

[ChetlovesMer]

4 hours ago, boogielicious said:

Did the gauge gouge the hole?😜

Dude, you know where I got my education, right? .... 😛

[CarlSpackler]

Bending down is beneath me. I expect my caddie to retrieve the ball.

[phillyk]

I think covid-era holes are getting beat up more. The worst ones are the plate like devices that connect to the flagstick and sit an inch below the surface. If anyone pulled the stick, they’d jam it down and inevitably hit the sides of the cup. They look better than putting into a hole with a noodle though. 

[Zippo]

One of the local courses here has them thingies on the bottom of the flag stick such that, when your ball goes in the hole, you slide the thingie up the stick with your putter and it lifts your ball out of the cup. That's nice for us slightly older folk but it makes the flag stick down at the hole about 3 times the diameter of the usual stick and makes it a bit harder to get your putt to fall.

[boogielicious]

22 hours ago, Zippo said:

them thingies

Please don’t be so technical!😜

[Zippo]

On 2/23/2022 at 8:56 AM, boogielicious said:

Please don’t be so technical!😜

Sorry. I should have used the full technical name - “thingamabob”.