Retrieving Ball Safely without touching the flagstick

[Deleted member 3432]

Foam inserts that raise the bottom of the cup, you can pick up the ball with 2 fingertips. Works perfectly.
I would happily never go back to the option of having the flag in or out on parkland courses, but understand you need the option on more exposed courses when the flagstick is being blown 45 degrees sideways ?

Playing a links where the flag is either leaning sideways or flapping in the wind I almost always want the flag out when putting.

We have the foam inserts and it's very noticable that the flag is much more centered when its windy so its a thumbs up for me.

 

[Crazyface]

We use one like this but with a less obtrusive lift rod and a domed 'tray' at the bottom so the ball naturally rolls away from the hole. No bending down. Easy peasy.
https://golfballezlyft.com/ E-Z Lyft Pro

Brilliant !

 

[rulefan]

I have just found the name. Putt Buddy.
https://www.puttbuddy.co.uk/

 

[Rlburnside]

Just to put some figures out there, it's over £500.00 to do 18holes ?

We have plastic tubes with screws inserted on the outside of the plastic which hold it firmly in place. Homemade and cost nothing ?

 

[need_my_wedge]

we use these

 

[rulefan]

We tested them. The two vertical rods affected the ball (sometimes good, sometimes bad) and the flat tray didn't always release the ball.


However, independent of the make, it seems that everyone likes the concept of not having to bend down and pick the ball out of cold water on a rainy day. It may convert some of the 'flagstick out' camp.

 

[Orikoru]

Anyone else think is all a bit ridiculous? There's more chance of getting ill from the chemicals they put down than from catching a virus from a flagstick. Just be careful and sanitise your hands afterwards if you're that worried. FOr what its worth we've got foam around the base of the stick, I hit my short putts firmly to take any break out so quite often the ball jumps back out off the foam, the sooner we go back to proper holes the better.

A couple of times we've found flags lying on the floor (presumably wind) so one of us have had to touch it to pick it up anyway.

I have a sanitiser spray I carry around with me, whenever I go anywhere I spray my hands before I go and when I'm leaving.

 

[Deleted member 23344]

We have Putt Buddy at my club. I played Chartham Park last week and they have the ones that need_my_wedge showed three posts up from here. Both work fine. As a senior whose better bending down days are behind him, I hope that they keep them post-pandemic.

 

[sunshine]

The various lifting mechanisms increase the width of the pin, so look like they would potentially deflect balls. Do they have an impact when putting out?

We've got upside down cups at present. However, before lockdown we had a piece of plastic tubing in the hole. To me, this cheap fix didn't seem to affect holing out.

Looks like people are trying to over-complicate the solution when foam / plastic inserts are the most effective and simple and cheap solution. How long before someone develops a digital putt buddy with a smartphone app that notifies you if the ball is holed?

 

[Shooter McPowick]

Anyone else think is all a bit ridiculous? There's more chance of getting ill from the chemicals they put down than from catching a virus from a flagstick. Just be careful and sanitise your hands afterwards if you're that worried. FOr what its worth we've got foam around the base of the stick, I hit my short putts firmly to take any break out so quite often the ball jumps back out off the foam, the sooner we go back to proper holes the better.

I have a bad habit of licking the ball and wiping it on my trousers, perhaps a byproduct of playing cricket when I was a youngster. But in all the years I've done this I've never been ill as a result. I keep telling myself not to do it but it just sort of happens...

 

[Shooter McPowick]

Ours are like this but are made from aluminium with a big yellow sticker with red text on top with a warning. Cant find an online image...

 

[williamalex1]

One of our electrician members made these with some 3.5 screwed rod ,rings nuts, and box lids. Works well

 

[KenL]

One of our electrician members made these with some 3.5 screwed rod ,rings nuts, and box lids. Works well

Decent job but that rod adding width to the flag pole gets in the way, no?

 

[azazel]

We're using something like the Putt Buddy mentioned above. Fairly thickens the pin and on a links its meant that there have been quite a few occasions where the ball can't fit in the "front" of the hole. We've started comps already - although non-qualifiers - but not being able to touch the flag makes it pretty tricky sometimes. I don't see why clubs couldn't just attach a smallish bottle of sanitiser to the flagpoles and let us take them in and out as normal.

 

[williamalex1]

Decent job but that rod adding width to the flag pole gets in the way, no?

These pins are quite narrow compared to some, probably only 12 to 15mm diameter, plus the rod can be rotated easyily around the pin using your putter/club if you feel it makes the hole look smaller.

 

[upsidedown]

We have plastic tubes with screws inserted on the outside of the plastic which hold it firmly in place. Homemade and cost nothing ?

Sounds intriguing , any pictures possible please?

 

[Robster59]

We have these in our cups

 

[Imurg]

We have the foam inserts. Works well.
Never had a bounce out and easy to get your index finger under the ball and flick it out when you've holed it.
Not sure I've touched a flag stick once....

 

[rulefan]

The various lifting mechanisms increase the width of the pin, so look like they would potentially deflect balls. Do they have an impact when putting out?

We've had no reported issues although one player in my group the other day did move the (single) rod to behind the stick. He missed anyway!
I tried a few putts just after we installed them and found that if the rod was directly in front of the stick, it took the sting out of a ball hit overfast and helped it drop in.

 

[clubchamp98]

We had three members DQd at the weekend .
Holding the flag To keep it centred , as the wind was a gale force.
It’s not just windy on the links.

It puts me off on short putts when the flag is moving around.
But we have been told not to touch it.
Schoolboy error as one of them shot 68 for second place.