Who puts the pin back?

[rustyredcab]

I'm that guy who leaves his clubs on the flag -- so is everyone in my group. I think it is the best place for a club on the green. It should always be out of the way and saves time by making sure you never need to go back looking for a club. I'm also the guy who keeps score, so I often do not grab the flag but instead get to the cart and write the scores before the other guys get to the carts. As long as the last one in doesn't get stuck with the flag, we're fine.

We tee off based on teem honors except on a few split fairways where some of us go one way and others go the other way. Often, the guys not taking "short-cut" shot can tee off while the group ahead is still in range on the short-cut fairway. If the round looks slow, we skip the honors and guys tee off as their fairway clears. We play for quarters so, honors are a big deal. :)

A tip from my Dad's club: no one puts their head-cover on after teeing off until the carts reach the first drive. That means four guys walk off the tee holding their drivers and get into the cart without the standing and futzing around behind the cart. Another bathroom break worth of time saved. Also works for putting your wedges and putter away -- wait until you are at the next tee box. That's got to save a beer-cart stop worth of time.

[mirv]

i usually play a kind of unspoken "first in gets the pin," with the exception being if the flag is clear across the green or something, meaning i'd have to do a fair amount of (probably distracting) walking to get to it, and then it's more "whoever happens to be closest to the pin gets it."

[rustyredcab]

ON A SIDE NOTE:

Originally Posted by Yukari

Here, here!!!

Granted it is sometimes difficult to know the "tone" in written words, but I think this was clearly not one of those derogatory intent.

"Tone" has nothing to do with it. The joke was based on using a pejorative term that demeans those with cognitive delays. There WAS derogatory intent. That was the point of the joke. The joke suggested that being in an internet argument is just as bad as being in the Special Olympics because you are retarded. That's using the "r" word as derogatory. The joke "works" because for some, making fun of "retarded" people is all in good fun.

There may not have been hurtful intent -- just gross negligence. Or perhaps just gross insensitivity. But there most certainly was derogatory intent.

We all say and write things that seem stupid and awful after we've done it. I do it all the time. When I do, if I'm at my best at that moment, I apologize for saying something offensive. I do not apologize "if someone took offense." I guess the father of a boy who is likely to have a very hard time over the next few years because his brain works differently, will understand how awful it was to use the "r" word in a joke after a few more years of grade school. I do wish both fathers, and their children, all the best wishes in the world.

[camper6]

I watched Moe Norman in a couple of tournaments.

A real shy guy who would hide out when trophy presentations came along.

He drove a Cadillac and practically lived in the car.

He put on an exhibition at our club and I couldn't believe how heavy his clubs were.

The irons were loaded with lead tape.

[sean_miller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by camper6

I watched Moe Norman in a couple of tournaments.

A real shy guy who would hide out when trophy presentations came along.

He drove a Cadillac and practically lived in the car.

He put on an exhibition at our club and I couldn't believe how heavy his clubs were.

The irons were loaded with lead tape.

[camper6]

My cat's breath smells like cat food.

Amazing.  Simply amazing.

[Leftygolfer]

First one in.  If that person is me, I don't touch it until the last person is getting ready to putt.

[BuckeyeNut]

Interesting read.......I can honestly say flag etiquette has never been an issue or something I think about during a round.  It's always been a shared duty, and with a little common sense, you'll know when it's your turn to pick it up

[turtleback]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeNut

Interesting read.......I can honestly say flag etiquette has never been an issue or something I think about during a round.  It's always been a shared duty, and with a little common sense, you'll know when it's your turn to pick it up

Ah, that is the problem.  Judging by many of the posts in this thread sense is not common.

[Gresh24]

Originally Posted by rustyredcab

A tip from my Dad's club: no one puts their head-cover on after teeing off until the carts reach the first drive. That means four guys walk off the tee holding their drivers and get into the cart without the standing and futzing around behind the cart. Another bathroom break worth of time saved. Also works for putting your wedges and putter away -- wait until you are at the next tee box. That's got to save a beer-cart stop worth of time.

How do these save time?  Doing it later (or at a different time) does not save any time.  You still have to take the time to put on the headcover or put away the wedge/putter.

[normdamarine]

I never ever let an older person put the flag in if I am playing with them... Now older I mean someone who is older than me, I just think it is the respectful thing to do...

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by Gresh24

How do these save time?  Doing it later (or at a different time) does not save any time.  You still have to take the time to put on the headcover or put away the wedge/putter.

If you wait until you have moved ahead, then the group behind you isn't waiting for you to take care of these details.  You hit, hop back into your cart or pick up your bag and move on, then when you get to your (or your fellow rider's) ball, you replace the previous club and get ready for the next shot.  When leaving the green, you just get in the cart or grab your bag and head to the next tee, waiting to replace your putter until you have cleared the green area.  These are just a couple of the small things that conscientious golfers do to help with pace of play, and which uncaring or unaware golfers don't do, causing unnecessary delays.  If you hit, then have to wait for one of your playing companions to play his shot, by all means, replace your club.  But if you are the last to hit in your group, then wait until you have cleared the area.  Just use your head and do those little things which seem trivial, but when 4 or 5 of those trivial acts are put together, they can add up to a  minute or two per hole.

One minute per hole is 18 minutes in a round.  Think about it.

[Gresh24]

My gosh, how long does it take some of you to put your Wegde in your bag?  Are you somehow faster at it if you carry it until your next shot?

Here's another huge time saver.  If you "jump" into your cart landing on the seat without having to touch the floor of the cart with your foot first, you can save 24.2 seconds per round.  Think about it.  But watch your head on the top of the cart.

[sacm3bill]

Originally Posted by Gresh24

My gosh, how long does it take some of you to put your Wegde in your bag?  Are you somehow faster at it if you carry it until your next shot?

The point is, if you put your head cover on and/or put your club away while you could be moving on, it prevents you from moving on, and therefore adds time to your round. If OTOH you do it when you're standing around anyway (while at the next tee waiting for one of your group to hit, for example), it does not slow you down and therefore does not add time to your round.

[Gresh24]

Originally Posted by sacm3bill

The point is, if you put your head cover on and/or put your club away while you could be moving on, it prevents you from moving on, and therefore adds time to your round. If OTOH you do it when you're standing around anyway (while at the next tee waiting for one of your group to hit, for example), it does not slow you down and therefore does not add time to your round.

I understand the point.  This would save me less than 30 seconds per round.  I didn't know some took that much time to walk past the back of the cart and put in a club.

I understand trying to do everything you can to keep good pace, but this is not significant enough to make any difference, IMO.

[rustyredcab]

Four guys tee off. Each watches the others' ball to help locate an errant shot. After the fourth guy hits his shot, they all walk back to the carts, stand behind the carts and replace put the headcovers on their clubs and put the club in the bag. Then they all drive to the first ball or two. Check for yardages and deciding on the next shots -- usually why two or three guys wait.

IF they had just carried their drivers in the cart until reaching the first balls, while waiting for the first player to hit, they can put your driver away. And if you are short man off the tee, while assessing your next shot you can put the driver away. Saves those minutes and clears the tee faster. Same thing leaving the green. If you save 20 seconds per hole, you shorten the round by six minutes with zero effort.

The entire thing is a closed system. That means your fastest round is only as fast as the slowest group ahead of you. However, if you are not waiting on the group ahead of you, then you do indeed save time when you save time. My Dad's clubs' suggestions do not involve rushing or changing a preshot routine. A slow player is still slow. They are just 5-10 minutes faster than they would have been if they wasted time.

[Gresh24]

If you are not waiting on the group in front of you, and you need to do these things to keep the group behind you off of you, you're too slow...

[sacm3bill]

Originally Posted by Gresh24

I understand the point.

You stated:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gresh24

Doing it later (or at a different time) does not save any time.  You still have to take the time to put on the headcover or put away the wedge/putter.

...

Are you somehow faster at it if you carry it until your next shot?

So it seemed to me you were saying, "It takes the same amount of time no matter when you do it, so why does it matter *when* you do it".

Originally Posted by Gresh24

This would save me less than 30 seconds per round.

I seriously doubt it only takes you less than 1.6 seconds to put a head cover on and put the club in your bag. But *that's* not the point either - the point is that every little thing adds up when there are 4 people doing it over 18 holes. This thread isn't about just putting head covers on, or just putting pins back in. It's about saving time wherever you can.

I'm not saying *you're* a slow player, so don't take offense - but your way of *thinking* is probably indicative of why a lot of slow players don't think they're slow.