Golfers, Leave That Flag In!

Ever since I started playing golf, I didn't quite understand why people took out the flagstick when they were off the green. Whenever golf announcers saw a pro pulling out the flag when off the green, they would always comment that the golfer was trying to hole it. But they would never offer any logical reasons.

I could understand wanting to pull the pin if it wasn't straight in, but not otherwise. To me it makes sense that you would want the stick in the hole to use as a backboard if the ball approached the hole too fast. However, I didn't question the widely-held pin-pulling practice since golfers much more accomplished than myself believed in it.

Thankfully, Dave Pelz, the mad scientist of golf, researched the effects of the flagstick on balls approaching the hole. He finally set the record straight, "Leave the flagstick in whenever the Rules allow, unless it is leaning so far toward you that the ball can't fit." I can finally sleep at night and write a golf blog without worry.