The Gimmie

[Meddle]

At an estimated 30 seconds per putt, this could mean as much as 9 minutes per round. While not a huge amount of time, multiply that by 4 players and it's 36 minutes. Perhaps this is the extreme, but it's certainly not insignificant.

That's if everybody missed all of their first putts and had gimmie comebacks for every hole. And it doesn't take 30 seconds to tap in a gimmie either, no way tapping out would actually add up to a half hour. 5 minutes, tops, is more like it for a foursome.

[j_moo]

That's if everybody missed all of their first putts and had gimmie comebacks for every hole. And it doesn't take 30 seconds to tap in a gimmie either, no way tapping out would actually add up to a half hour. 5 minutes, tops, is more like it for a foursome.

With 5-6 hour rounds, what's another 36 minutes? Crack open another cold one and enjoy the afternoon out in the sun. Do you really want to go home to the ball and chain? Hey, maybe that's the real reason why rounds are so long...

[Leftygolfer]

At an estimated 30 seconds per putt, this could mean as much as 9 minutes per round. While not a huge amount of time, multiply that by 4 players and it's 36 minutes. Perhaps this is the extreme, but it's certainly not insignificant.

Slow play on courses isn't because of people putting out. I am not blazing quick on the greens by any means but I do give my best effort. If I have 2 1/2 feet left, I will mark, line it up, knock it in. I will not change. I take short putts seriously. I am a pleasure to play with (at least that is what they say to my face) and not slow. If you lose balls, take forever tee to green, yeah take gimmies. I don't understand why people think that you have to play as quick as possible. I have a rule. If you suck play fast, if you don't you can think about what you are doing and not slow anyone else down.

[Shorty]

At an estimated 30 seconds per putt,.

30 seconds?????????????????????????????????????????????????? If that's the case in your group, Jim Furyk has a lot to answer for

Tapping in takes a few seconds. It doesn't slow the round down. This is an excuse that poor putters use to justify taking gimmies on putts they think they might miss. If they're so easy and short. Tap them in. Takes a second or two.

[j_moo]

I think the assumption so far is the 2 footer is a second putt. What if the shot before is a chip, pitch, or bunker shot?

Even if you just tap it, which probably won't be the case especially the last shot was a pitch or from a bunker, it would be more of a hassle, and take more time, than just taking the gimmie.

[sean_miller]

30 seconds?????????????????????????????????????????????????? If that's the case in your group, Jim Furyk has a lot to answer for

If you'd read all my posts in the thread, you'd see you're preaching to the choir, then you could spare me the punctuation explosion.

[zeg]

Let me apologize for 30 seconds being brought in to this, as I think I was the first here to put a number on it. I picked it as something reasonably short, but which no one could possibly call an underestimate.

I was just out practicing 2-footers, somewhat inspired by this thread. I probably dropped 18 of 20, including the last 15 in a row (so call the low rate at the start a fluke, I was playing with a somewhat different putter grip). Giving it my all on the practice green, I feel pretty confident that 10 seconds is more than enough time. I can't fathom what one could gain by thinking about it any longer than that, other than spooking the putt off line.

Anyway, I honestly don't care whether you hole out or not. I won't give you a gimme unless we're playing match play, because there's no such option. If you want to take it, take it. Go ahead and record it for your handicap. My only real complaint is when you decide that *I* should take a gimme and either knock my ball away or get offended if I decide I'd like to finish the hole. And, for the record, I say this assuming "you" are a stranger I've been paired up with---if "you" are a friend or regular partner, we'll have an understanding one way or the other.

My opinion is that presuming someone you've been paired with wants to ignore the rules is impolite. If you are inclined to "give" putts to people you're not in a match against, why not just ask before you get to the green whether they routinely hole out or not?

[BallStriker]

My opinion is that presuming someone you've been paired with wants to ignore the rules is impolite.

I totally agree -- to me, this goes without saying BUT I have seen it happen so many times. I would never, ever, ever sweep away a stranger's ball on a gimmee without asking if they want me to pick it up for them.

[shaun]

There's far, far too much discussion about "gimmies".

When I'm playing a competitive matchplay round, I'll usually concede some putts, but whether I do so on any particular hole is entirely my decision. Expecting any putt to be conceded is a bad mistake that you generally see only from players inexperienced at matchplay. I certainly don't expect putts to be conceded.

In non-competitive rounds, I don't care. The guys I play with usually putt everything. At the same time, they're not the kind of guys that will try to tell me they had a great round while picking their ball up whenever it happened to be within three feet of the hole. If they'd done that, they'd know it wasn't a real score.

[patriot07]

shaun, wish I could play with your guys. I'm with the "if you have to line it up, it isn't a gimme" group. Anything over a foot needs to be putted out all the way. If you give yourself putts that you have a >1% chance of missing, you might as well just write down whatever score you want, because it doesn't mean anything.

I especially love it when 30+ handicaps give themselves 3-footers. They say they want to improve, but they're not 30+ over every time because they can knock in 3-footers all day long. I'm a 7 and I HATE looking at those darn 2-3-footers in competitive rounds. I'd almost rather have a 4-5 footer so I don't feel as bad when it lips out.

All that being said, if it's not a competitive round, who cares? If it is, putt it out.

[authentic_golfer]

I'm a 7 and I HATE looking at those darn 2-3-footers in competitive rounds. I'd almost rather have a 4-5 footer so I don't feel as bad when it lips out.

A kindred spirit! Believe we're both guilty of negative thinking there, but I feel the same way.

If I'm posting a score, competition or not, I putt everything over about 18". Sean