Flagstick: In Or Out?

Optometrist Farnsworth Says Leave Pin In The Hole
LA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA | Everyone in the game has seen it by now and everyone likely has an opinion. Whether it’s Adam Scott putting at the flagstick from 6 feet, Bryson DeChambeau leaving the flagstick in the hole from all manner of distances, players pledging to never leave it in, always leave it in, or some mixture depending on the distance of the putt, Rule 13.2a (2), which eliminates the penalty if a ball played from the putting green hits the flagstick, has created a lot of conversation.

But very little of that discussion is scientific. For that, we turn to an expert.

Call it the Farnsworth Flagstick Fandango. With golfers debating the new rule, it took an optometrist by trade, Dr. Craig Farnsworth, to explain what’s really happening here.

Golfers now have three choices while putting: (1) Leave the flagstick unattended in the hole; (2) take it out; (3) have a caddie tend the flagstick and then pull it once the ball is in motion. Each golfer makes a personal choice. In a ...