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Bryson DeChambeau says he will leave the flag in while he putts in 2019
Bryson DeChambeau is well known for being a nonconformist in the golfing world, and the 25-year-old lived up to that status once more when he announced that he plans on leaving the pin in when he putts in 2019 as doing so will be permitted under the Rules of Golf. Speaking at a photo shoot with Golf.com, DeChambeau stated that his strategy would depend on the coefficient of restitution of the flagstick (naturally).
“It depends on the COR, the coefficient of restitution of the flagstick. In U.S. Opens, I’ll take it out, and every other Tour event, when it’s fiberglass, I’ll leave it in and bounce that ball against the flagstick if I need to.”
DeChambeau is no stranger to the unorthodox; the American currently competes with irons that are the same length (that of a 7-iron) and same lie angle, as we well know. The physics major is also known to put his golf balls in a bowl of Epson Salts to make sure that they are perfectly round.
Explaining the reasoning behind his new strategy to only putt on the green when the pin is fiberglass, DeChambeau stressed that thicker pins, ala U.S. Open style, will lead to more aggressive rebounding when struck, claiming: “It’s a higher propensity for it to go in the hole if it’s fiberglass compared to metal.”
The four-time winner on the PGA Tour will have to wait until 2019 before he lets his new plan unfold, but DeChambeau is bullish that his scheme will pay off, stating
“The USGA’s gonna have to go back on that one. Like, ‘No! We made the hole bigger!’”
DeChambeau is in action this week at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open where he began the event with a 5-under par round of 66.
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In the world of golf, there is Scotty and there is Scottie. Scotty Cameron gave the world of golf a nickname for a prestigious putter line, and Scottie Scheffler has now given the golf world a blueprint for how to negotiate one of the toughest tournaments to win. Sunday, Scheffler won the Masters tournament for the second time in three years. He separated from the field around the turn, making a trio of birdies at holes eight through 10. On the long walk home, he added three more birdie at 13, 14, and 16, to secure a four-shot win over Masters and major-championship rookie Ludvig Åberg.
On No. 7, Ludvig Åberg makes birdie to move into a tie for second place. #themasters pic.twitter.com/ZSjcOr9OQK
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 14, 2024
As the final group moved along the ninth hole, a quadrilateral stood at 7 under par, tied for the lead. Scheffler, playing partner Collin Morikawa, and penultimate pairing Max Homa and Åberg advanced equally toward Amen Corner, with the resolution of the competition well in doubt. Morikawa flinched first, getting too greedy (his words) at nine and 11. Double bogey at each dropped him farther back than he wished, and he ultimately made a 10-foot putt for bogey at the last, to tie for third position.
Ludvig Åberg made the next mistake. Whether he knew the Ben Hogan story about the approach into 11 or not, he bit off way more than he should have. His approach was never hopeful, and ended short and right in White Dogwood’s pond. Åberg finished the hole in six shots. To his credit, he played the remaining seven holes in two-under figures. Finally, Max Homa was the victim of the finicky winds over Golden Bell, the short, par-3 12th hole. His disbelief was evident, as his tee shot flew everything and landed in azaleas behind the putting surface. After two pitch shots and two putts, Homa also had a double bogey, losing shots that he could not surrender.
Why? At the ninth hole, Scottie Scheffler hit one of the finest approach shots of all time, into the final green of the first nine. Scheffler had six inches for birdie and he converted. At the 10th, he lasered another approach shot into a tricky hole location, then made another fine putt for birdie. Within the space of 30 minutes, Scheffler had seized complete control of the tournament, but Amen Corner still lurked.
Scottie Scheffler is back in sole possession of the lead. #themasters pic.twitter.com/MGytXpJcXH
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 14, 2024
At the 11th, Scheffler played safely right with his approach. His chip shot was a wee bit too brave and left him a seven-foot comeback putt for par. He missed on the right side and gave one shot back to the course and field. His tee ball on 12 was safely aboard, and he took two putts for par. On 13, the 2022 champion drove slightly through the fairway, then reached the green, with his first two shots. His seventy-foot-plus putt for eagle eased up, four feet past the hole. His second putt went down, and he was back in the birdie zone. As on nine, his approach to 14 green finished brilliantly within six inches. His final birdie came at the 16th, where he negotiated a nine-foot putt for a deuce.
Leader by four with two to play. #themasters pic.twitter.com/KcoilYExDr
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 14, 2024
Scheffler reached 11 under par and stood four shots clear of Ludvig Åberg when he reached the 18th tee. His drive found the lower fairway bunker on the left, and his approach settled in a vale, short and right of the green. With dexterous hands, Scheffler pitched to three feet and made the putt for par. With a big smile, he embraced caddie Ted Scott, who won for the fourth time at Augusta National, and the second with Scheffler. Ludvig Åberg finished alone in second spot, four back of the winner. Not a bad performance for the first-time major championship participant Åberg, and not a bad finish for the world No. 1 and second-time Masters champion, Scottie Scheffler.
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Just as the honorary starters broke our hearts with the reality of ageing, so too, did Saturday, with the revelation that third-round Tiger Woods is not yet (if ever) what he once was. The great champion struggled mightily to an 82, tied with three others for high round of the day. Among the top ten, the worst score posted was DeChambeau’s 75, but the large Californian remains in the hunt. Day four will see 2022 champion Scottie Scheffler pair with Collin Morikawa in the final game. In front of them will be Max Homa and Ludwig Åberg. The antipenultimate pairing will feature DeChambeau and Xander Schauffele.
If you look at the one-off major winners, most took advantage of their only chance at grand slam glory. For golfers like Homa, Schauffele, and others, Sunday the 14th might represent their best and only chance at claiming a major title. For Scheffler, Morikawa, and DeChambeau, the ability to join the two-time and three-time, major winners club holds great appeal. Finally, a young’un like Åberg seeks to jump-start a more-than-tour-winner career with a major title. Many of the greats won them early, and the Swede from Texas Tech would love nothing more than a chance to join that company.
Sunday at Augusta, as always, will be riveting. It will provide hope throughout the first nine holes, then gut many a competitor’s heart coming home, rewarding just one with a new item for the wardrobe. Plan your menu and choose your outfit. Masters 2024 is about to conclude. Until then, let’s reveal five things that we learned on day three of the year’s first men’s major.
1. The three most critical holes on the first nine are …
numbers four through six. You might make some birdies at the first and last trios of holes, but the middle triumvirate of fairways and greens determines your day. Play them even par or better, and you’ll lose zero shots to the field. Get on a downward spiral of slightly-wayward shots, and recovery will be nigh impossible. Anyone who makes three at the fifth, as Tiger Woods did on Saturday, will get giddy.
Tiger Woods makes a lengthy birdie putt on No. 5. #themasters pic.twitter.com/bm3zw6cllK
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 13, 2024
2. The three most important holes on the second nine are …
ten through twelve. We realize that we commit heresy by omitting one of Herbert Warren Wind’s Amen Corner traces, but par or better is critical at 10. Dry landings at 11 and 12 set the competitor up for two par fives in three holes, sandwiched around a straightforward, par-four hole. Remember when Ben Crenshaw began his march to glory in 1995? It all started with birdie at the 10th.
A three on No. 10 ties Bryson DeChambeau for second place. #themasters pic.twitter.com/EPHQARauPl
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 13, 2024
3. The most interesting and efficient round of day three came from …
Collin Morikawa. Birdies at the first three holes, followed by bogey-birdie at six and eight, then ten consecutive pars to finish off the second-low round of the day. Morikawa has improved each day, from 71 to 70 to 69. He has won majors in England and California. He has the temperment for this sort of day, but will certainly be in the hottest of all cauldrons around 3 pm on Sunday.
Three straight birdies to open Collin Morikawa’s third round. He’s one stroke off the lead. #themasters pic.twitter.com/nzA9kSJD11
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 13, 2024
4. The guy who lost the most ground on day three was …
Nikolai Hojgaard. The dude failed to make par from the seventh green to the 16th. After three consecutive birdies around the turn (8 through 10), the Great Dane tumbled to earth with five consecutive bogeys. 11 and 12, we understand, but 13 and 15 are par-five holes, for goodness sake! No matter where he finds himself on day four’s back nine, it will be hard to put that stretch of golf out of his mind.
Nicolai Højgaard birdies Nos. 8 and 9 to leap into a tie for second place. #themasters pic.twitter.com/Wkoh39dEKE
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 13, 2024
5. Our pick for the green jacket is …
impossible to nail. We suspect that certain players should and could perform on Sunday. We remember when Retief Goosen, a great US Open winner until round four of 2005, lost his mojo. We recall days when Rich Beam and Y.E. Yang pulled major titles away from Tiger Woods. Things go wrong on Sunday, and they go wrong super-quick at Augusta.
We’ve decided to ascend Mount Olympus for our Sunday selection. Who better than the 2021 Olympic champion to add a long-awaited, first major title. It’s Professor X for us: Xander Schauffele.
Eagle for Scheffler. He returns to a tie for the lead. #themasters pic.twitter.com/3mWXrXVTL6
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 13, 2024
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You don’t see leaves on the ground at Augusta National. The grounds crew and superintendent’s staff take care of those sorts of things, so that both course appearance and consistency of play are preserved at the top tier. We saw leaves on the ground today and, given the force and perseverance of the wind, we’re lucky that we didn’t see tree trunks along the fairways. We did see higher scores than secured in round one, and some of the three- and four-hole stretches were downright inconceivable. The cut after 36 holes came at six over par, and five dozen golfers reached the weekend of play. Numbers always define the story of a tournament, and we’ll let them define the five things we learned on day two of the 2024 Masters tournament.
One: 60 + 10
Sixty golfers posted scores of 148 or better through 36 holes, to reach weekend play. Ten more golfers posted 149 and missed the cut by a single stroke. The ones who missed the cut by a stroke included former champions Mike Weir, Zach Johnson, and Sergio Garcia. Also among the brood were current US Open champion Wyndham Clark, and Nick Dunlap, who won on the PGA Tour as an amateur in January, and subsequently turned professional. Of the ones who survived by the slimmest of margins, surviving to the weekend were former champions Jose Maria Olazabal, Hideki Matsuyama, and Adam Scott, along with Rickie Fowler and Tom Kim. Golf’s cut is a cruel and unconcerned blade, and each Masters tournament reminds us of this fact.
Tom Kim makes just the third birdie of the day on hole No. 4. #themasters pic.twitter.com/gtlLbVcQi6
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 11, 2024
Two: One
The number of amateurs to make the cut in the 2024 Masters is solitary. His name is Neil Shipley, and most folks love him. He wears his hair to the shoulder, and appears to have the proper balance of intensity and chill. Shipley opened with 71, then held on for 76 on day two. He made the cut by three shots, and will collect his share of hardware on Sunday. It’s safe to say that Shipley will turn his attention to learning the course, as well as his own self under pressure.
Following a birdie on No. 13, Neal Shipley is the lowest amateur on the course. #themasters pic.twitter.com/3MAjI3yltE
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 11, 2024
Three: 23
For most sorts fans, 23 recalls the greatest NBA player of all time, Michael Jordan. For Justin Thomas, it’s a number that will haunt him for a long time. Thomas reached tee number fifteen on Friday at even par. The two-time PGA Champion played the subsequent, four-hole stretch in 23 shots, missing the cut by a shot. On fifteen, he went for the green in two, in some sort of halfhearted manner. He got wet with shot number two, went long with his pitch, and three-putted from the fringe. On sixteen, he played away from safety and found elevated sand. His blast went down the hill, and he missed his approach putt in the wrong place. On seventeen, he missed his drive right and his approach long, and lost another shot to par. The coup de grace took place on the home hole: drive so horribly left that he had to pitch out to the fairway and hit three metal into the green. His third double bogey in four holes dropped him all the way to 151 and plus seven. Among the many questions, the foremost one was why he dropped his longtime caddy on the eve of a major championship. Surely Bones would have saved him one of those shots, and perhaps more.
Justin Thomas | 15th Hole, Round 2, Stroke 2 https://t.co/TYudRsbM8g
— ?????BuffaloGolfer.Com????? (@buffalogolfer) April 13, 2024
Four: Forty-Nine divided by five or six
Tiger Woods cannot possibly win title number six at Augusta in his 49th year, can he? Not on this broken body, and not from seven strokes behind, right? Not with so few competitive rounds over the most recent months, and not one year removed from a third-round withdrawal from this very tournament. Well, if he cannnot possibly win, allow us to dream and hope a bit, and hold on to a fantasy.
Tiger Woods gets back to one over par with chip-in birdie on No. 6. #themasters pic.twitter.com/h4G5CrbgdJ
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 12, 2024
Five: 3 that we like
We like Scottie Scheffler, of course. He seems to have a sense of Augusta National, and he was able to hold on in 2023 for the championship. We like Nikolai Hojgaard, because he might have just the proper combination of naivete and experience for a first-time winner. Finally, we like Collin Morikawa, a winner of two separate major titles. Winning at Augusta National requires a certain amount of length, unless you putt lights out. Morikawa might be embedded in one of those putting weeks.
Nicolai Højgaard chips in on No. 7 to move to red numbers. #themasters pic.twitter.com/CTE34kuOdh
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 11, 2024
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CrashTestDummy
Nov 3, 2018 at 4:39 pm
I have different thoughts about the flagstick, but am not against what he claims because I haven’t researched it. However, my whole thing is how the pin is oriented. On downhill putts I leave the pin in. I think helps much more than it hurts because of the way the pin is oriented. Above the cup there is an advantage because the pin is slopping away from the player on the low side of the cup, so, the cup is bigger on the high side of the cup. On the flipside on uphill putts, there is a disadvantage because since the pin is leaning toward the player, the cup is slightly smaller on the low side of the cup.
BoB
Nov 5, 2018 at 4:36 am
I believe the new rules will totally slow down the game, theb flag will be out and in all the time , player a always plays with the flagout , player b in on the long putts out on the short putts. Then the wind leaves in from one direction out from another, I play 3 hours by foot 18 holes. The games not going to be quicker for all the rule changes, its the people who have to player quicker. Please leave the rules alone.
What comes next adouble so big hole so that the people need less putts
CaoNiMa
Nov 3, 2018 at 2:46 am
You put your hard flag in, soft flag out, in-out, in-out, and shake it all about, you do the hokey pokey and turn the caddies all around, that’s what it’s all about!
“No time for the old in-out, love, I’ve come to read the meter”
Craig
Nov 2, 2018 at 9:02 pm
I expect for most players it will end up a bit like chipping. Leave it in for long putts, but for the make-able ones take it out. I guarantee Bryson takes it out on the 3 footers.
JP
Nov 2, 2018 at 5:33 pm
Who cares? If it really helps, they will ALL do it. So wait and see…
Rick
Nov 2, 2018 at 4:59 pm
The flagstick is like the backboard in basketball. It will never hurt a good shot, and only help a bad one. If you bang one off the stick so hard that it ricochets, it wasn’t going in anyway.
CrashTestDummy
Nov 3, 2018 at 5:13 pm
Not necessarily. Flags don’t sit perfectly in the cup and lean. So, they can be leaning depending the slope of where a cup is cut or the wind. The orientation of the flag leaning can make the cup bigger or smaller on one side of the hole which can help or hurt a putt from falling.
John
Nov 2, 2018 at 3:30 pm
The day I leave the flag in to putt is the day I give up golf.
Scheiss
Nov 3, 2018 at 2:47 am
Goodbye! And good riddance!
Brent
Nov 3, 2018 at 8:53 am
Do you still play a balata too?
benseattle
Nov 2, 2018 at 2:30 pm
I’m no physics major nor did I do a test with thousands of Pelz-inspired simulated shots nor did I conduct a chipping test with Iron Byron. However, I do know this: I can’t tell you how many HUNDREDS of times I’ve seen smooth rolling chips barely graze a flagstick and send the ball away from the hole — balls that would have DEFINITELY dropped had the flagstick been removed. Sure, a fast-moving skulled chip might fall if it hits the flagstick dead center (if it’s not so hard that it clanks off the stick back toward the player) but a ball rolling toward an empty cup at least has a chance to allow GRAVITY to take effect; not quite the case when the flagstick intercepts it first. I’ve known about the Pelz study for years but as a pretty good chipper, I always remove the pin before trying to hole a chip. Ain’t stopping now.
The slow play deal (pin in, pin out, pin in) could very well manifest itself on the PGA Tour, depending on who’s playing and what they believe. Frankly, I don’t see a big change here: these guys have ALWAYS putted with the flag out… a habit hard to break and doesn’t the hole looks SMALLER when there’s a flagstick jammed in there?
Scheiss
Nov 3, 2018 at 2:49 am
A good speed that will catch the back of the cup on the way down by gravity will go in than the same speed that hits the flag, it’ll more than likely ricochet sideways
Pete
Nov 3, 2018 at 6:34 am
‘Definitely dropped…’. But how do you know that? Without doing the thousands of hours of testing?
Brent
Nov 3, 2018 at 8:55 am
Some people are allergic to facts and science.
Mwa Kali Sana
Nov 3, 2018 at 11:04 am
I agree :I’m also an excellent chipper and most of the time I remove the pin if I chip to a flat green :if I chip downslope ,I keep the pin in the hole as a backstop
Rich Douglas
Nov 2, 2018 at 2:23 pm
The only reason for pulling the flag on putts from the green is that it’s always been done that way (in our lifetimes, anyway). But it is a silly practice.
First, no other shot mandates this, not even putts from off the green. Why the exception? I can see ALLOWING it, but REQUIRING it? Never made sense.
Second, Dave Pelz showed in research a decade ago that it is always better to leave the flag in, even if the flag is being bent towards you by the wind, unless the wind is so strong it prevents the ball from falling in. (In which case, go into the clubhouse and have a drink.)
The only problem with this rule is that it might slow play as players in a group go back and forth about whether or not they want the pin in. (They do, but they don’t always realize it.)
Scott Grossman
Nov 2, 2018 at 1:35 pm
As a golfer, Bryson is something of a physicist.
As a physicist, he is just a golfer.
web design or web developer
Nov 2, 2018 at 1:07 pm
Thanks for finally talking about >Bryson DeChambeau says he will leave the flag
in while he putts in 2019 – GolfWRX <Loved it!
Leo Vincent
Nov 2, 2018 at 12:19 pm
Once again Bryson is ahead of the curve. Putting with the flag in is advantageous in most situations.It aids in alignment and it is easier to putt at something above ground.Paul Azinger has been saying this for years. As a non – scientific test on a putting green putt at a water bottle or something similar that is smaller than a hole then putt at the hole and i bet you hit the bottle a lot more than you hole it.Everyone i have done this with has. I always putt at something above ground in warm ups and visualize a bottle or can in the hole when playing.Wish they had this rule when i was playing professionally
dat
Nov 2, 2018 at 12:07 pm
I’d be fine if he never won again and left the tour to work for NASA. Get out of here with this mumbo jumbo crap.
Steven
Nov 2, 2018 at 11:56 am
The PGA need to address this now. The rule designed is for speed of play and not to possibly benefit a player. Bryson is hardly speedy as it is and if nothing elsei he should be penalised for not playing within “the spirit of the game”
The rule as it stands is a joke and bother the USGA & R&A have dropped the ball here.
kevin
Nov 2, 2018 at 1:46 pm
I think this is going to backfire on the intent of the rule to speed up play.
This isn’t about Bryson. I think this will lead to slower play. one guys wants it in, then the next wants it out, then the third wants it back in.
I really don’t understand with all the things that could’ve been addressed, why this was a priority. The rule simply should’ve been allowing anyone playing a round ‘by theirselves’ to be able to leave the pin in while on the green and still be conforming relating to posting handicap.
Simms
Nov 2, 2018 at 2:25 pm
Our club went to the 2019 rules two weeks ago…yes you are 100% correct…the group I played in today ended up 2 holes behind and that leave the pin in take it out thing was the main cause….some of the guys have found how much of an advantage it is even on a five foot put..I am talking a Senior Mens club here…and yes 100% leaving the flag in is a plus for Senior golfer for sure….RULE CHANGE SOON, RIGHT?
Curt
Nov 2, 2018 at 11:52 am
Worst tour player ever. Definitely should be banned from tour. I guess I’m wrong but the flag can only be used when you can’t see the hole.
Brent
Nov 3, 2018 at 8:57 am
saying worst tour player ever makes you sound extremely ignorant and grossly misinformed. And you are wrong about he rule. Why would you hate on a guy for following the rules?
Mike
Nov 3, 2018 at 9:51 am
How would you go about banning him? What would you base the ban on? Maybe while you’re at it you can jail Hillary Clinton for NOT breaking any laws.
Richard Douglas
Nov 3, 2018 at 2:56 pm
Really? Worst ever? Worse than Ken Green? Mac O’Grady? Tommy Bolt? Tom Weiskopf?
Yes, you’re wrong.
tim
Nov 2, 2018 at 11:47 am
Why doesn’t the PGA Tour just make a tour-only rule that overrides the USGA?
Bill
Nov 2, 2018 at 11:51 am
Gianni:
Before being critical of Dechambeau playing practices, you need to win 4 times on the PGA tour.
Curt
Nov 2, 2018 at 11:54 am
Should have all kinds of tour only rules since it’s where rules matter.
J Zilla
Nov 2, 2018 at 12:42 pm
Because the tour has no control over the majors or WGC (I think) and it probably wouldn’t be a good look to have separate rules on tour vs the biggest events.
Scheiss
Nov 3, 2018 at 2:35 am
They already do have separate rules on Tour. They cut the rough down way shorter, and make it easier for Eldrick to win by allowing him to play courses he likes and avoid the ones he doesn’t.
DougE
Nov 3, 2018 at 10:18 am
Really? Wait, so only Tiger benefits from shorter rough and can choose to play the courses he wants? Wow, all this time I thought he was just a better player than those other guys. Stupid me. Thanks for clarifying how the rules work Scheiss-ter.
AggOwl
Nov 5, 2018 at 7:49 am
Eldrick & Alfred both!
HDTVMAN
Nov 2, 2018 at 11:44 am
I am really getting sick of this guy!
David C
Nov 2, 2018 at 12:10 pm
I love it. Every bit of it EXCEPT his slow play, put him ON THE CLOCK. It’s fine to play by the rules, even if they benefit a player, but all rules should be enforced.
David Lehmann
Nov 2, 2018 at 10:17 am
Leave the flag in and sink a putt…. be careful pulling the flag to get your ball. Sometimes the cup will come out also.!!!
Henry Adam
Nov 2, 2018 at 10:02 am
Some time ago, an experiment was conducted with an “iron Byron” putting and chipping machine, which showed very clearly that the ball found the bottom of the cup more often with the pin in than with it out.
Other than the CoR of the flagstick itself, many are now tapered, getting thinner at the base, thus directing a ball which strikes it downwards.
Now in my 70’s I remember well playing with the British sized ball (1.62″), prior to the rule change (in the 1970’s) enforcing the use of the larger (American)1.68″ version. Apart from immediately losing distance, there was a noticeable increase in “lip-outs”. This was due in part to larger size, but the effect of increased angular momentum as a ball rolled at given horizontal velocity to the hole. Horseshoe misses increased where the ball appeared to be dropping but managed to climb out again. The Welsh Ryder Cup player, Brian Huggett, appealed to the R&A to increase the size of the hole from its 4.25″ internal diameter to 4.5″, arguing that the rewards of hitting approach shots close were no longer as good. He was ignored. Now, the ball has changed again, with the construction such that the weight distribution is less at the centre and more evenly distributed out to the cover. We have gone from the would balls with a dense sack in the centre to a more uniform construction. This gives more rolling angular momentum and hence the ball rolls further on landing, especially on manicured fairways. There is also the further increase in lip-outs on the green. The hole diameter, arbitrarily based on the outside diameters of drain pipes in Eastern Scotland in the late 1800’s remains at 4.25″, but the saving grace is that modern greens are nothing like those of even 50 years ago, being much smoother, faster and truer.
Henry Adam
Nov 2, 2018 at 10:06 am
“This was due in part to larger size, but the effect…” should read “This was due in part to larger size, but also the effect…” and “We have gone from the would balls with a dense sack in the centre..” should read “We have gone from the wound balls with a dense sack in the centre..”
We do not seem able to edit after posting..
Victor Sterner
Nov 2, 2018 at 3:50 pm
I believe Pelz did a study and it is the golfers advantage to leave in the pin whenever possible.
Seth Mischke
Nov 1, 2018 at 10:10 pm
Flabbergasted…………Look at Zach Johnson, John Deere Classic from a few years back. Flagstick cost him the tourney on the 18th. The boys in the booth were like leave it in, it is stupid to take it out, and I was like Nooooooooooo. THE perfect example of why not to leave it in if you ask me.
Mike
Nov 1, 2018 at 9:12 pm
Dave Pelz studied this and has concluded that leaving the flagstick in is an avvantage on ALL shots including a 4 foot putt. Therefore it would be stupid for anyone playing for millions of dollars to ever putt with it out again.
TeeBone
Nov 1, 2018 at 8:14 pm
The flagstick might stop a ball that would finish well past, but will generally keep some balls out that might have gone in without the flagstick, regardless of the flexibility of the stick. Prediction: Bryson will do this until he hits a putt that he felt should have gone in, but hit the stick and didn’t. Then he’ll stop.
Johnny Penso
Nov 1, 2018 at 11:30 pm
Do you realize the irony of suggesting DeChambeau will make his decision as to whether to leave the stick in or not based on a whim or a single bad result? ???? ???? ???? ???? ????
Scheiss
Nov 1, 2018 at 7:14 pm
I think you should also measure the CT, the characteristic time. Might as well. Then you can use a foam marshmallow ball to make sure it goes in as it hugs the stick on its slide down into the cup
hans
Nov 1, 2018 at 7:07 pm
maybe the usga woulda been better off making this a local rule option, like the new 2 stroke penalty OB rule. don’t wanna see caddies on tv constantly shuffling to get the pin in/out depending on the player.
Scheiss
Nov 1, 2018 at 7:17 pm
Aha! You have hit it on the head.
See, the USGA didn’t think of that when they thought this rule would quicken the pace at the local muni level. They didn’t think that in a 4some, some might leave it in, and others not, and this pulling out and pulling in depending on who’s playing might now make the round take longer to play, especially if the last guy putting always wants it out.
It’ll be a circus to see the caddies hand it off to each other and ask around who’s leaving it in and who’s not and when it needs to be left in and not, and more traffic around the cup.
Ty Web
Nov 1, 2018 at 7:38 pm
These two comments right here. I fully expect to see this one changed somehow within a year.
Marco
Nov 1, 2018 at 11:11 pm
Not to mention how annoying it will be when you are waiting to hit into a green and you see the flag going in and out over and over again.
Acemandrake
Nov 2, 2018 at 11:58 am
Exactly! Your scenario sounds like “non-ready” golf as the player waiting in the fairway has to observe & wait for the correct time to begin their pre-shot routine.
Boyo
Nov 2, 2018 at 9:12 am
Right on! I’ve been saying this since I heard of this stupid rule….
Allen Wilson
Nov 1, 2018 at 6:55 pm
Back in the days of balata balls, we all floated them in Epsom salt water to see if the CG was actually in the physical middle of the ball.
BIG STU
Nov 2, 2018 at 1:18 pm
Allen Very true and we also carried a gauge to check to see if the ball was still round after a few holes. In fact I still have mine still attached to my old Ping Staff bag
Brandon
Nov 1, 2018 at 6:30 pm
Putting with the flag in is like nails on a chalk board to me. I cant stand it when people do this. I know its not rational but I cant even leave the little flags on the practice putting green in.
Charlie
Nov 1, 2018 at 11:09 pm
And 90% of those players don’t put the little flags back in. Nails on the chalkboard…
Boyo
Nov 2, 2018 at 9:14 am
What about us old men who don’t like bending over to fetch balls on a putting green?
CaoNiMa
Nov 2, 2018 at 10:55 am
You can’t bend over to get the ball? Don’t play golf. I bet you’re not going to be able to drop the ball from knee height either
Steven Meyers
Nov 2, 2018 at 2:19 pm
Pretty douchey thing to say to somebody. If you get lucky, maybe you will live long enough to get a bad back.
Sid
Nov 2, 2018 at 2:38 pm
If you were in my foursome you would be providing us with another hole to stick the flag pole in!
Thomas A
Nov 2, 2018 at 11:01 am
Get a Fetch putter from Ping!