Equipment
Forum Thread of the Day: “Brandel Chamblee: Every player should leave the flagstick in the hole while putting”
Today’s Forum Thread of the Day was submitted by RMGC_NV and concerns a hot take from Golf Channel analyst, Brandel Chamblee. Whether you love him or hate him, Chamblee is never one to hold back from speaking his mind, and in this particular case, the former pro is confident that it’s in every player’s best interest to leave the flagstick in the hole while putting. Our members discuss.
Here are a few posts from the thread but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- jll62: “Looking forward to doing some of my own testing on this with my Perfect Putter, but I am firmly in the camp of leaving the flagstick in as the default state based on all of the evidence we have to date. The key will be knowing when it’s advantageous to take it out, but I think those situations will be rare.”
- HoosierMizuno: “I don’t think leaving the pin in will hurt anyone’s score. I do think its debatable on how much it will help….especially when it comes to putting. I get leaving it in on chips. I’m predicting that in 3 years there will be only a few if any guys still removing the pins to putt. there just isn’t any reason to take it out other than you think it looks weird.”
- Gautama: “Help or not I can’t say, wind is the big variable in my mind. Regardless, though, personally I hate the way it looks after thirty-plus years of pulling pins, and I’m sticking to my shallow and subjective opinion, lol. Anyone else find it just ugly to see a putt made with the pin in the hole?”
- sbjinx: “Played today with my group and we decided to keep the flag in for all our putts. It was weird at first, but by the 3rd hole, we all agreed that we’ll play with the flag in from now on. We didn’t have any instance where having the flag in helped or damaged a putt, but it’s nice not to have to walk to the hole and pull the flag once we’re on the green. We would just walk to our balls, hit our putts and move on to the next tee. I agree with the above poster that in a few years most people will be playing with the flag in.”
Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.
That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.
On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.
“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”
On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”
“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.
From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4
3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees @18)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
Hybrid: Ping G440 (23 degrees)
Shaft: Oban Isawa Red Hybrid Shaft 04 Flex 70 Gms
Irons: Srixon ZXi7 (5-P)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i80
Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50-MID, 54-FULL, 58-MID)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i105
Putter: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i
Shaft: ACCRA Putter Shaft
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
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Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4 3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4 5-wood: Ping G440...
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Leo Vincent
Feb 19, 2019 at 11:29 am
I usually disagree with everything Brandel Chamblee says but he is correct on this one.Leaving the flag in helps the player and this is an old rule being brought back.A rule requiring the flag be taken out was adopted in the 1950’s i believe.Prior to that the flag could be left in
John
Jan 16, 2019 at 2:09 pm
We are witnessing the dumbing down of golf. Personally, I’d give up the game before I’d leave the pin in to putt. Stupid rule introduced by people trying to justify their existence.
dave
Jan 15, 2019 at 12:43 pm
Its a joke of a rule!!! UsGa is a joke , they are clueless!
Take the flag out, one guy says out next guy putting wants it in. Come on!!!
Agree it will slow play down.
Lastly, drop at knee height. Really? uSgA joke of an organization…
Hamish
Jan 13, 2019 at 1:32 pm
How about local rule.. if it hits the pin its in!
Most Flag pole’s are too fat reducing the width of the cup, ejecting putts that don’t hit the pole dead center. Bring back the thinner old school fiberglass flag pole.
Glftips
Jan 11, 2019 at 5:46 pm
This rule was adapted in order to speed up play. However, in my first five rounds of 2019. it seems to make play slower. One guy wants in out and then the next guy wants it in. Putting the pin in and out a few times on each green adds more time to the game. Maybe it will get better with time but right now it is not good.