Violation of etiquette or rules?

[Golfs-for-Fun]

It was windy as hell here today.

So I played 18 on a short par 3-4 course with my nephew and brother in law. After the first 9 the BIL left and it was just me and the nephew. A couple ahead of us on the 3rd hole basically jumped over to the  7th to finish up and leave because of the slowpokes in front of them.

So anyway, because it was so slow ahead of us a guy by himself caught up with us at hole 5 and asked if he could finish the round with us. Sure...whatever.

So on hole 7 I drop the ball on the green about 10 ft from the pin. The nephew shanks it off to the right and the guy puts his past the green about 35 ft on the left.

Well, on these windy days we man the pin when WE play because Ive seen a ball drop into the hole and get pinched back out by the wind blowing the flag so I figured Id go over and get ready to pull it just in case this guy did chip it up and possibly in the hole.

Apparently that wasnt a good idea. I made sure to stay off anyones line to the hole, but he was just this side of rude about it and said leave it in until everyone was on the green. Well, thats fine. And if its the rules or just what he preferred, ok, but nothing is more irritating than having a beautiful chip shot roll up and into the hole only to have the flag stick pinch it back out just because that particular day is windy.

Is this an actual rule that the flag HAS to stay in until everyone is on the green?

Or can it be pulled at the players request if his ball looks like it may go in?

Thanks in advance.

[mvmac]

No there is no rule the flag has to stay in, sometimes guys take out the flag if they think they have a good chance to make it and don't want the pin to interfere. But that has to be done before the player hits the shot.

[JetFan1983]

You can pull the pin whenever you want. You can even pull it out before your approach shot. Mickelson had his caddy do this during a tourney when he needed to hole it in order to force a playoff, and he thought he had a better chance of that if the pin was out.

Buy a rule book and keep it your golf bag. It's great for situations like this. Someone thinks they know the rules in the group, and with a rule book ready, you can always call them on it. They cost like 5 bucks and are pocket sized.

In your situation though, it sounds like the guy didn't want you to tend the flag for his shot, and that is his choice. If your nephew wanted you to tend it for his chip though, that's your nephew's choice too.

[sacm3bill]

Originally Posted by mvmac

No there is no rule the flag has to stay in, sometimes guys take out the flag if they think they have a good chance to make it and don't want the pin to interfere. But that has to be done before the player hits the shot.

It's true that you can't decide whether or not to have it removed after you've taken your shot, but just to clarify, it *can* be removed after the shot has been hit if you've asked someone to tend it (or if someone is standing near it, which is defined as tending).

Note that the pin can be tended regardless of whether the ball is on the green or not. And when it's being tended of course, it *must* be removed before struck by the ball, to avoid a penalty.

Originally Posted by JetFan1983

You can even pull it out before your approach shot. Mickelson had his caddy do this during a tourney when he needed to hole it in order to force a playoff, and he thought he had a better chance of that if the pin was out.

I thought Bones was tending the flag - left it in so Phil knew where to aim but pulled it after he hit the shot.

[JetFan1983]

Originally Posted by sacm3bill

I thought Bones was tending the flag - left it in so Phil knew where to aim but pulled it after he hit the shot.

Yea he did. Correct.

[camper6]

Some players feel the ball has a better chance of holing out with the pin in, so I guess he didn't want you to pull the pin.

There was a sort of a study done on this in Golf Digest.

He could have said he didn't want the pin tended for himself instead of trying to tell you it was a rule or something.

[luu5]

Originally Posted by Golfs-for-Fun

Is this an actual rule that the flag HAS to stay in until everyone is on the green?

Most of the time everybody first gets their balls on green and only then the flag is pulled to make it easier without caddies, but if played by the book then the order of play still stands, i.e. the one farthest away plays first whether on the green or not. So in theory the flag could be in and out few times before the hole is played.

fyi There is rules section in the forum for rules type of questions.

[mvmac]

It's true that you can't decide whether or not to have it removed after you've taken your shot, but just to clarify, it *can* be removed after the shot has been hit if you've asked someone to tend it (or if someone is standing near it, which is defined as tending).

Note that the pin can be tended regardless of whether the ball is on the green or not. And when it's being tended of course, it *must* be removed before struck by the ball, to avoid a penalty

Correct, thanks