Flag in or out? Aimed at speeding up play, the new rule that lets you putt with the flag in has already gained a lot of attention, but how does it really impact your game?
Flag in or out? Aimed at speeding up play, the new rule that lets you putt with the flag in has already gained a lot of attention, but how does it really impact your game?
By Charlotte Ibbetson
The idea behind being able to leave the flag in is that you're able to putt on the green whenever you're ready, therefore in theory making the game quicker than if you had to wait for your playing partner to take out or tend to the flag for you.
But, that is as we've mentioned, only theory. What happens when some of your group want to putt with the flag in, and some want to putt with it out? We could all be left doing a strange version of the hokey cokey around the hole - in, out, in, out, (shake it all about!).
Let's be honest though, our biggest concern is whether we're going to hole more putts with the flag in or out. The truth is, we just don't know, and even the world's best golfers are still undecided.
It's not a great sample size, but at the Sentry Tournament of Champions at the start of January, Bryson DeChambeau proved (albeit momentarily) that statistically putting with the flag in actually improves your chances of holing out. After an opening round of 4-under, he led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting at +3.868, and proved that there was method behind the madness: “I maximised my potential on that, especially on 16 today, where it's kind of blowing downwind, five percent slope, straight downhill you want that pin to help. So that's what I did and utilised it to my advantage.”
On this side of the pond on the European Tour, we've seen a few players putt with the flag in during the opening round of the HSBC Championship in Abu Dhabi, including Li Haotong and Tommy Fleetwood. Former champion at the iconic, falcon-fronted Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Fleetwood shot an opening round score of 3-under par. He's some way off the lead, but could we see putting with the flag in come into its own over the weekend? Let's see, I'm still very much on the fence.
At the moment, I don't think I'll be bucking the trend and putting with the flag out, but this video of Brooks Koepka, Henrik Stenson, Tommy Fleetwood and Dustin Johnson might have just helped to put some perspective on the whole thing:
What do you think? Will you give it a go and putt with the flag in? Let us know your thoughs by emailing [email protected]
