My friends all tell me that anything within one club length (pitching wedge) is considered a gimme. this drives me nuts because i know they can't make some of those putts... especially on pin locations on a slope. I putt everything out..... is there a rule on gimme's???

a PW...?

LOFL...

gimme's are BS...

in matchplay it depends on who im playing!!
Otherwise id say only when im more than confident they will nock it in.

a 1 inch putt isn't a gimme... i ALWAYS putt out and nothing aggrivates me more than when i play with a couple of old guys and i hit a 30 footer to three feet and they just knock it away and say, "Thats Good!" i understand some people play gimmes but i have seen people miss a 4 inch putt so i don't trust anybody anymore.

You can have a gimmie any time. But for me it goes in the hole. Just don't try to compare scores with gimmies.

PUTT IT!! unless your giving it to the guy for gamesmanship, etc.

What's a gimmie?

A PW is nearly 3' long. No matter who you are, you will hear total silence from 99.9% of gimme givers on the planet.

Anything within the leather (putter grip).

i hate when im playing out there and i get paired with an older fellow, i hit my first putt and its oh say 2 ft away, i walk up to mark it (just routine) and he just says, oh thats good. politely say, 'well ive missed a couple of these before, so i will just knock it in'
i hate it, like anything within 3 feet is good, no wonder that guy had no 3 putts.
if im playing a match, it really depends on who im playing with, but if we're getting along, and he is giving me putts of a fair length, il do the same for him, im not going to be an a** and make him putt out everything, especially cuz he'l knock it in 9/10 times anyways. but for the most part, gimmies piss me off, unless its in a matchplay with someone im geting along with

I think it's funny when people get mad that I didn't give them a putt. If it's so close that you think I should give it to you, it must be easy to make 100% of the time. Just make it.

I Putt out 99% of the time.

However a putter grip is about right (say 10").

With putting everything out, i slow myself down just a second or two and actually properly address the ball otherwise its to easy to catch a tap in chunky and not move the ball. I didn't slow myself down and just a couple rounds ago did just that. Then last round my friend did the same thing.

Pretty much anything inside a foot, and I'll give, except on pars or better. I earn those and make those I play with make them. Gimme's on bogeys or worse are fine from about a foot or less.

I can't seem to find the term "gimme" in the rules of golf...maybe I'm spelling it wrong?
Or maybe you're playing a different game?

No gimmies for me. I've missed an 18-incher before, and ever since then I can't in good conscience record a score unless I've holed out 18 times. Believe me, at the time I missed that putt I genuinely felt I deserved that putt, and it stung but I counted the stroke anyways and really, you feel better about yourself in the end anyways. I think being strict and unyielding about the rules like this is ultimately better for your game.

In a match play situation, I think the only times putts should be conceded is if there's a 99% or greater probability of the putt going in, or if it's a putt that doesn't affect the outcome of the hole, for example, if you've already putted out for par and your opponent has a 30-footer left for bogey.

Otherwise, I've always felt conceding putts is a weird part of match play, because it can really become a gray area. People will get pissed off if they're not conceded certain putts and I don't really get that. If your opponent refuses to concede even a six-incher, I don't think it's appropriate to get upset over it. It's bizarre because then etiquette becomes a factor in the outcome of a contest.

I think of that incident way back when, when Tiger didn't concede an "inside the leather" putt to his buddy O'Meara, who got so hurt and offended by it that he threatened to end their friendship if Tiger ever pulled that on him again. O'Meara's basically peer-pressuring his opponent into conceding the putt and that's rather whiny and ridiculous. Aren't matches played to be won? I think match play would be much simpler and fewer feelings would get butt-hurt if concessions were eliminated altogether.

nice to know how you guys feel about gimmes.... now the problem is how do I get my friends to start putting them out without them being offended. I've seen them complain about playing with some people that won't give them gimmes. i play with these guys all the time and I don't want to be left out because I don't want to give them a gimme. But we're all competitive and it bugs me that they sometimes beat me by a few strokes and I know they shouldn't have because some of those gimmes could be missed.

Conceded putts are fine - and very much a part of the tactic (tourneys) and courtesy (with buddies) of matchplay. In fact, I'd like to see recreational golfers take more gimmes - particularly when the putt is for a triple / quad. Let's face it - you can turn all the rants about slow play and attribute them to golfers chopping away at their 7th, 8th, 9th shot. You cant have it both ways.

Of course in tournament play, putt em out.

How close do you have to be for a Gimme. 4 inches below the surface is my answer. If it's not in the hole it's still in play. Before any round whoever i'm playing with i will try to come to an agreement that no gimmies be given, that way no one will be offended when the heat is on.

If I'm not playing for money I don't care if a guy gives himself putts. I play for my own score.
If you play these guys for money I'd just say on the first tee "let's play tournament rules today. No mulligans, no gimmes, putt everything out" If they don't want to do that don't play for $$.
I played with a guy that must've hit 5 balls OB or in water one day. As we walked off 18 he asked what I shot and I said "78". He says "that's what I shot too!" OK, buddy, if that makes you feel better about yourself to not count all your strokes that's alright with me.
For the record, my regular playing partners do give gimmies but the ball has to be like looking down into the cup. 6 inches maximum.

inside the leather

Anything within 8 inches for our groups. Usually we'll putt them out anyways. We like the sound it makes when it hits the cup!

I always put out. If you start expecting gimmes and don't get one it adds pressure and might lead to a miss. A two foot put is so close it would be embarrassing to miss which increases the likelihood of doing so unless you knock them in every day.

Inside of two feet and I'll usually give it to my opponents. Although I missed a putt just a hair longer than 2 feet today myself in a tourney. Pretty pathetic lack of concentration.

going to be tough, but if you just address it before the round that you would like to play everything out, it might stick...

i have a partner that plays with his work colleagues, and they do gimmies all the time... he knows that i don't play that crap, but i've lightened up on him cause i've been improving more rapidly than he has... heck i've allowed him to take mulligans off the tee, and everything recently and still hand him a whooping by 15 strokes... you gotta keep the other guys interested or you might end up losing some playing partners...

i missed one on a par 3 the other day from less than 15"... it was a TOUGH one to swallow, considering i hit the green off the tee, proceeded to leave the birdie putt (about 40'er), 8' short, missed the par, then missed the tap in bogey... recording that double after hitting the GIR made me so mad...! i proceeded to par the next 3 holes though, so it was ok in the end...

I absolutely love it when guys give themselves 2-3 foot putts in normal rounds, because I know those are going to be the same putts those guys are missing in a tournament. If you don't learn to putt a 2 footer when it means nothing, then it's going to really be tough when it's for the club championship.

gimmie = ball in the cup... period..

That's beautiful!!! I will add the object of the game is to get the ball IN the hole not close to the hole.

Just tell them what my Grandfather told me, "The score for the hole is complete when the ball is resting at the bottom of the hole. Are we playing golf or something else?" It's like hitting a "walk-off" home run. You still have to hit all the bases, they don't "gimme" third to home.

I don't really care what others do and I do take them on occasion. I also don’t play people for money, so it has no impact. IMHO, people play golf for a lot of reasons and sometimes its just to relax… if someone you are paired up with (in a casual round) wants to get himself/herself a 4’ give me what does it matter?

So do you hate getting paired with older fellows or just older fellows that want to give you a putt? How about younger fellows that want to give you a putt?

I played in the club championship a couple of weeks ago, and the guy had me putt a 12 incher on #16. I wasn't made, more like amused.

You spelled it wrong. It's called a "concession". While the OPs buddies are messing with him, there *IS* a legitimate rule in match play for them.

No way. There's a definite strategy in match play for concessions. To give them an objective measure completely eliminates that strategy.

6 inches, let's keep the game moving people. The guy who marks his 12 inch putt and reads it while the group behind is falling asleep gets no more respect in my book than the 30 handicapper who raked away a 4 footer.

First off the rules of golf say putt everything out.
So there is no rules for gimmes.

Its simply and agreement among bad putters to cheat.

Having said that it does speed up play a bit.

Originally the term "In the Leather" meant inside the length of the grip. At most clubs I have been at they now call in the leather the putter length between the bottom of the grip and the head. Some idiots even cut a bit of the grip off to make it longer or get longer putters.

The guy I play with the most we only give what we allow. As in if I do not say its good he better putt it and vice versa.

Usually putts eighteen inches or less are conceded.

Having said that two years ago, when I was full flinch or yips with my putter. I managed to hit 78 percent of the greens in regulation in the 54 hole club championship. I counted them up when it was over I missed it nineteen times inside two foot or less. A couple of them inside ten or twelve inches.


Overall I do think giving putts inside say the real leather of the grips is harmless and will speed up play. But only in friendly rounds.

I think they should have an official gimme rule.

If it is longer than your Johnson you have to putt it in. If someone wants to take a one footer as a gimme - the other players have the right to challenge - the other guy would have to whip out his johnson.

Just have to figure out what the rules would be for the ladies.

Hey if you can get that as and official rule on the PGA tour I could be a millionaire by this time next year.

Gimmies blow.

My rule of thumb. I give everything I know I could not miss. (That's about 12")

I like the johnson rule but do we get to see how deep the ladies are maybe???? just a thought if you can get that on the lpga i will be the millionaire.

Concessions do exist in the Rules of Golf. IT pertains to match play only. In medal play there is no such thing as a concession.

Putting out 1-2 footers doesn't really slow down play. What a cop out. For my part, I putt them out but I don't usually mark them and go through the whole rigamarole. I check for any break, make a practice stroke and then knock it in, all while the next player is prepping to hit his putt.

Of all the myriad factors that cause slow play, putting out should be one of the last to be blamed. Putting the ball in the hole is the main objective of golf. It is very telling that people would condemn putting out in the name of maintaining pace of play. Truly lame.

Gotta agree with this. The only time the score goes on the card is after the ball goes in the hole.

Matt

First off as pertains to the term Concession.

You can conceed the hole or the shot at any time it does not have to be a short makeable putt.


As for short putts. Now I can tap in putts of up to about seven inches. Outside of that if my opponent does not give it I go through my routine.

You can imagine how many putts I get given by my more impatient opponents. I however do not do it to iritate them.

A few years ago when I came out of the yips I found a better routine made me a better putter. I used to miss a lot of 12 to 18 inch putts. If I go through my routine , I seldom but not never miss one of this length. The point is I do not like them and if I take my time and go through my routine and tiny check list .

I am not a slow player (played 18 on Thurs with two of my friends in just over two hours) but I am slower when I putt than when I do other things on the golf course it helps.

Anyway so do not curse the guy that marks the short putt. They may be a bit harder for him than they are for you. I know they are for me.

Ken

Gimme = In the cup


end of story

Oh man I just laugh when I read threads like this...so many rules Nazis out there. My favorite comments so far run along the lines of - "Gimme?!! What the $%$% is that! What game are you playing!"

Um, we're playing golf.

Busy course = anything within about 8 inches....with a foursome playing that WILL save time.

Playing single for a quick round after work = 8 inches.

DON'T tell me that if I would have lined up, read the putt, addressed the ball well, taken a few practice strokes, etc I wouldn't have made that 6 incher 99/100 times. I'm willing to give up that 1/100 ball for more minutes of life. And yes, it will still mean I'm playing golf.

Now, a tournament, betting with buddies, etc....no gimmes (or it must be conceded)