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Pin Positions

Fish said:
I understand that Scott, however, on some greens which are 2-tier or we know have big slopes, we want to know if the flag is at the the top or bottom because we can still play short or long of the green giving us the best putting opportunity.
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But if you know the course well enough to know its a 2 tier green, you should know which tier its on by the naked eye from 150 yards surely? are are you saying you can hit it accurately from 3 wood range hence requiring the info? obviously a blind green i can see the advantages...
 
We have A B & C zones (eg Today, all the pins are in zone A). As of this year, they are all printed out on the scorecards which makes it nice and easy to see.
 
Pin sheets, combined with a decent Course Guide, are the best imo. I've never seen anywhere that charges for them - and plenty that don't.

Next best option, imo, is 'Region' where pins are placed somewhere in an pre-defined area for the day - with the area being stated (or obvious) on the 1st tee (or Pro Shop) and each hole's areas being shown on the scorecard.

Or just use the Laser, though that doesn't necessarily give the info about how close to hazards the pin is. Coloured flags, for Front Middle and Back are marginally better than nothing imo.
 
Fish said:
Yes, no consistency and if not informed by the pro when arriving or reading the notes on the score card, if their on it that is, you find out by default!

Again more courses are doing away with 150yd markers and using sprinkler heads and the old coloured discs, not as noticeable in the distance recessed into the grass are they? and...how many times are we walking down the middle of the fairway :o
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hence the need for gps and or laser.
 
It depends on how skilled a golfer you are to the amount of info you need. Some say just to centre of the green will do, while the lower and better you get the more info is needed and processed. I use laser and on my home course which is not a problem as your used to how it plays but playing away I still like to have a stroke saver and pin positions to help.
 
Never understood why people are just happy with slap it on the middle and go from there, in effect shooting away from the hole a lot of the time. Sometimes maybe when the pin is precarious then safety choice first but no need most of the time imo.

I will almost always go straight at the flag from 150 yards and in. Bit further out I may play to the heart of the green if necessary.
 
Birchy said:
Never understood why people are just happy with slap it on the middle and go from there, in effect shooting away from the hole a lot of the time. Sometimes maybe when the pin is precarious then safety choice first but no need most of the time imo.

I will almost always go straight at the flag from 150 yards and in. Bit further out I may play to the heart of the green if necessary.
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Then only reason for me is that at my course there are a few tiered green where the put is much harder if you are long or short and the length of the green means that there can be a whole club from middle to front or back. A simple coloured flag as we have makes a huge difference.
 
Knowing where the pin is isn't only important for approach shots but often for tee shots or layups. I will often adjust the club I use or the area of fairway I aim at based on the position of the pin in order to give me the best angle or distance. We have red\yellow\white flags which which go in sequence (Hole1: R, Hole2: Y, Hole3: W, Hole4: R etc etc) so you always know where the pin is going to be on each hole.

On our 5th for example, if the pin is at the back I will lay up on the left of the fairway as close to the bunker as I dare risk getting to give me a better angle to the pin. If it is on the front, I will layup a little further back in the middle\right of the fairway.
 
When I was at Studley the greens were quartered, there was a little map of the 18 greens on the back of the scorecard (and on the board on each tee) and a big sign by the first tee telling you which position pins were in. Used to find this really excellent in days before I had a laser or gps and certainly didnt find anytime was added on in checking. Not sure Id be too chuffed to have to pay for the information each time and nowadays its rendered pretty irrelevant by using the laser. That said the pro-ams I tend to play in you get a pin position sheet and I do tend to have a peek on each tee to see where the pin is located (and find this can be of help on some holes)

At AVGC we have the little ball on the flag which I dont find that useful, invariably they are in the wrong position and unless the hole is flat or downhill its hard to tell exactly where on the flag they are from distance some times (niot to mention they get moved by people leaning on them when tending the flag)

As to your dislike of them and preferring coloured flags, Id actually prefer this system if done well on every course rather than the coloured flags, but I guess it depends what you get used to
 
Doon frae Troon said:
Honest question from an old dog.

When you guys/gals use lasers how often are you within 15 yards of where you want to be.
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A reasonable question if you add the following:

..and how much further away would you be without the lasers.

I certainly found I was significantly closer with the laser than without it - so I'm a fan. I also know folk who prefer to simply 'play by eye' for no better reason than they find they are more focused.
 
HawkeyeMS said:
Knowing where the pin is isn't only important for approach shots but often for tee shots or layups. I will often adjust the club I use or the area of fairway I aim at based on the position of the pin in order to give me the best angle or distance. We have red\yellow\white flags which which go in sequence (Hole1: R, Hole2: Y, Hole3: W, Hole4: R etc etc) so you always know where the pin is going to be on each hole.
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I was under the impression the green keepers were now given the option of setting them randomly and not sequentially. I haven't played for a month so I may be wrong. I played at Forest of Arden and they gave you a pin sheet and there was a board on the starting hut saying they were in position B on the chart. By the 3rd hole it was apparent they bore no resemblance to those locations.

To be honest I would rather play to the centre of greens. I am not good enough to attack pins with impunity and unless we are talking mahoosive greens like St Andrews, on most courses the middle will never see you have miles to go.
 
We have no coloured flags and no pin sheets, Its all on the eye or in my case a laser! In fact its only since England golf took over we have had 150 yard markers put on the course, Hotchkin firmly believed the game was all about seeing the shot and playing it as the game intended.

Its only in the last few years have I seen courses start operating the coloured flag system.
 
My place has Red, Yellow, White. In all honesty - if I can't see where the pin is with the naked eye, then my target is THE GREEN - any of it! Perhaps one day I'll be accurate enough for it to matter - but right now, not important to me.
 
HomerJSimpson said:
I was under the impression the green keepers were now given the option of setting them randomly and not sequentially. I haven't played for a month so I may be wrong. I played at Forest of Arden and they gave you a pin sheet and there was a board on the starting hut saying they were in position B on the chart. By the 3rd hole it was apparent they bore no resemblance to those locations.

To be honest I would rather play to the centre of greens. I am not good enough to attack pins with impunity and unless we are talking mahoosive greens like St Andrews, on most courses the middle will never see you have miles to go.
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I think that's a winter thing to allow them to protect certain parts of the greens, they did it last year too but was back to sequential order in the summer, we'll see.
 
going for the middle of the green all the time is going to put some serious pressure on your lag putting.


for example, if you have a front pin and you aim for the middle. its quite possible for it to pitch then continue to roll up to the back of the green depending on the firmness of the green, trajectory, softness of the ball and how much spin is on it.

you have aimed for the middle, hit the middle but left a very tough putt.
 
Red front, yellow middle and blue back at our place.

Knowing the green's means I know where I'd like to put it but having the ability to do it is another matter.
 
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