Rule 17, and the Decisions arising from it, deals with most aspects concerning the flagstick. I recommend that all golfers read this Rule for themselves, but in this blog I am going to highlight the most salient points;

• The first one is one that in my experience surprises many players. The flagstick may be attended, removed or held up before making a stroke from anywhere on the course. But I recommend that you don’t ask for it to be attended if you are playing to a putting green that is 150 yards away, as you may soon run out of people to play with! (Rule 17-1).
• If a competitor sees that a ball is going to hit a flagstick that has been removed, typically when it is lying on the putting green beside the hole, they may move it to avoid the ball striking it, without incurring a penalty (Decision 17-1/7). Before 1st January 2008 such an action incurred a penalty of one stroke.
• If an unattended flagstick is still in the hole when a player makes a stroke, no-one may remove it while a ball is in motion if doing so might influence the movement of the ball (Rule 17-2). Breach of this Rule incurs the general penalty**.
• Here's one that not many people know. Anyone standing close to the flagstick (i.e. within reach of it) is deemed to be attending it, even if the player making the stroke has not authorised them to do so. So, when playing a stroke be very careful and ask anyone standing close to the flagstick to move away, or you could incur the general penalty** if your ball strikes it, even though you may have been playing from off the green (Decision 17-1/1).
• There is nothing in the Rules stipulating where a player must stand when attending the flagstick (Decision 17-1/4).
• A player may hold the flagstick with one hand and tap their ball into the hole with the other. But they should make sure that they remove the flagstick so that their ball does not strike it and may not use it for assistance. Decision 17-1/5.
• If a ball strikes the flagstick, while it is being attended, the player making the stroke incurs a general penalty** (Rule 17-3). This may seem unfair as it could be due to the carelessness of the person attending the flagstick for you, but that is the Rule. However, if a fellow competitor, or opponent, purposely allows a ball to hit the flagstick, so that the player will incur a penalty, then they are disqualified under Rule 1-2 for influencing the movement of the ball.
• If your ball is on the putting green you should always ask for the flagstick to be attended, because if your ball hits the flagstick you incur the general penalty** (Rule 17-3).
• The flag is part of the flagstick and the same rulings apply if a ball hits the flag (Decision 17-3/5).
• Be extremely careful if your ball comes to rest against the flagstick. Rule 17-4 states that when you remove the flagstick, the ball must fall into the hole. If a player picks up their ball before it has completely dropped below the level of the lip of the hole they incur a penalty of one stroke, under Rule 18-2, and must place it back on the lip of the hole.
• When a player is making a stroke they may leave the flagstick positioned as it is or centre it in the hole, but they may not adjust it to a more favourable position than centred (Decision 17/4).
  

**The general penalty in stroke play is two strokes and in match play is loss of hole.

Please let me know if you have any other questions regarding the flagstick.

Good golfing.

Barry Rhodes
rules at barryrhodes dot com
999Q on Twitter

Greetings!

I’m in San Antonio right now, and washing my hands every two seconds because I’m scared of the Swine Flu! (Mother’s orders). I’m so excited about my tournament last week in Brownsville, Texas because I finally played well enough to be in the LAST group on Sunday! I hate to sound like a rookie, but having a teenage boy carry a scoreboard down the fairway with my name on it was the coolest thing ever!

First off…I’m renaming this Duramed Futures Event “The British Open” because the winds gusts were 30 mph all week long! On Friday and Saturday, I scrambled more than “IHOP” to keep my score around par. My dad helped me with my putting that week; we worked on moving my shoulders and arms at the same time so my hands stay in “the middle” throughout the putting stroke. It worked so well! Now we like to say, “stay in the middle, and you’ll rise to the top!” We’re total dorks, I know…

This was the first time this season playing in the final group so mentally I had to prepare myself. I think that golf is 90% mental and 50% physical. You may call me dumb, but the competition is so stiff you have to play your game at like 140% to win one of these things! I really wasn’t nervous, I actually felt excited because I thought this was my chance to really shine! So I woke up that morning and told myself to go out there and kick, scratch, and even throw an elbow for every single stroke. I knew if I played to my top potential that this could be my week. Let’s say that I was a little pumped up!

Aaaaaaand…..I played like crap….

Okay… turns out I didn’t need to pump myself up anymore than I naturally was already going to be. I think the first clue was when I went 10 yards OVER the first green! Way to go, Tiger, haha! Although my score was high, I definitely had some really memorable moments. After a tough front nine, I made an incredible birdie on 10 to put myself back at the top of the leader board. I can still remember the roar from the crowd! We ended up having up to 100 people watching at times, and I felt like the crowd was really pulling for me, what a feeling…I had the greatest time tipping my hat, throwing some winks, and even pulling out a few birdies dances here or there. I wanted to make sure everyone watching was having just as much fun as I was out there.

Sure, I was disappointed with my play…who wouldn’t be? But I’m going pick myself (maybe cheer myself up with a few Oprah Magazines, works like a charm) and focus on next week. You know what they say, “a bad day on the golf course is always better than a good day at work.” I sure have the greatest job in the world, and I’m not ready to get down on myself just yet.

I not only made 22nd place this week, but was also awarded the feeling of confidence that I have the ability to grab a trophy this year! This week I’m going to work on a SOLID pre-shot routine and keep it the same no matter if I’m teeing off first or last. That’s my plan and I’m stickin’ to it! Wish me luck and I can’t wait to talk to you soon!

Carling

What a class act! Ladies on the Tee Golf Blog at www.sherrytabb.com is proud to showcase Carling Coffing on her road from the Duramed FUTURES Tour to the LPGA. We’re pulling for you, kiddo!

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