Retrieving Ball Safely without touching the flagstick

[Grant85]

I think as things move on and this becomes the 'new normal' I'd like to see a more common sense approach for competitions.

I really don't think it's appropriate to have raised cups for competitions.

Have the normal flags, cups and rakes and ensure everyone playing has hand sanitizer with them. Or else put a bottle on every tee.

In reality infection would only happen through a pin or cup if someone who was infected touched their nose or mouth area, then touched the pin or cup and someone else did the same in reverse.

I'd assume there are very few studies done on the chances of being infected in this way, but given numbers have been reducing despite people regularly visiting shops (which must have far more infection opportunities) I think any risk must be close to zero, or zero with effective hand sanitation. And as I said, only for competitions once a week or so.

 

[clubchamp98]

But that's not a golf rule is it?? You shouldn't be disqualified from a comp for it! That's just for health and safety in the current climate isn't it. That's different surely?

It a condition of the comp I guess.
Like the pga not allowing shorts.
The sec asked for a clarification and they told him he was correct.
The guidance was changed on Monday but you still can’t hold it with your hand!
Rule 13.2 was quoted as amended to allow only flag left in that’s all.
But now it states you can centre and hold it with a club.

They praised the members for owning up but said retrospective action can’t be taken to reinstate the scores.
Bit harsh imo but it was a rule of the comp,

 

[Rlburnside]

But I would still have to bend down

?

 

[TerryA]

We have an old golfball drilled thru the exact width of the flag, the flag then goes through the drill hole and this stabilises the flag and sits almost at the bottom of the cup and allows the putted ball to come to rest in the hole with a small percentage of the putted ball above the hole. No problems with lip outs and no extra bits of metal on the flag and no cost involved.

 

[chellie]

No.....that’s not what it says.

So what does it say.

 

[clubchamp98]

So what does it say.

From what I can see you can centre and hold the flag with anything except your hand.
Even with a glove and towel you can’t hold it with your hand.

 

[FuzzyDuck]

My club has simply turned the plastic hole cups upside down, so the ball will rest on the flat bottom of the cup with about 2/3rds of the ball below the putting surface. Work OK mostly, although there have been a few instances where the ball drops in and hits the rubber flange on the bottom of the flag and causes the ball to pop back out again.

Place I played at on Monday had a sleeve around the flag stick, when lifted using your putter it would lift the ball out of the hole. Good thing it allowed the ball to drop completely into the hole but the mechanism to lift with the putter head was very fiddly.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

We've gone to the style of hole that lifts out so the hole should be far deeper. Looking forward to trying them out on Friday

 

[HampshireHog]

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...

Absolute rubbish aren’t they. The rods get in the way and come out of the top and base to easily. Terrible design but well marketed.

 

[SammmeBee]

From what I can see you can centre and hold the flag with anything except your hand.
Even with a glove and towel you can’t hold it with your hand.

What he said.....

 

[brendy]

Are you sure they were puttbuddy? They only have one rod and that is close to the flagstick.View attachment 31459


Edit: Just noticed your comment re 'thicker' and realised we must have a 'slim' version as the picture above isn't quite what we've got. It is certainly seems to be a slimmer rod.

Yea we've now settled on the type youve posted.
First we had the upturned cups, waste of time.



Then the foam insert which I liked.


The regular putt buddys were just too thick, any wind at all and you couldn't hole a putt straight in, trying to catch a lip was very difficult.




I suggested cutting out but removing 270 degrees rather than two chunks of 90 degrees. it made it better but not perfect.


Now on the javelin putt buddy which works well bar having to reangle it occasionally if its sat awkwardly.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

No idea what make we have introduced (a lift up flag) but we had tapered flags so hoping when they've attached they will be at the thinnest part and wont cause an issue. Out tomorrow so looking forward to seeing how these work. Has to lead to more positive putts than putting to the upturned cups we have been using

 

[Rlburnside]

How much are clubs spending on these lift-up contraptions when all you need is 18 bits of foam?

Seems to me all these contraptions are creating a problem that could be solved for a tenner?

 

[Imurg]

I have to say, the foam inserts, cable-tied to the flag stick so the dont ride up, work extremely well.
Cheap and effective..what's not to like.?

 

[Imurg]

Sorry I'm not quite following there, why would they ride up?
Ours are measured and cut so they fit to the bottom of the cup, they are just slotted in place when the hole is cut.

We had some move up in the cup so the were level or just above the surfac
Whether it was animals having a go at them or what I dont know but they're tied in place now.
It does get breezy on the course so the wind could oscillate the flag stick and that might do it.
Anyway, minor problem solved with 50p worth of times..

 

[PJ87]

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.

Clubs have missed a trick
Can get little clip on bottles off Amazon or eBay.. buy massive 5l pots of hand sanitizer.. fill up the little one. Maybe stick the club logo on the ..

Can get 50 bottles for £31.. that's 62p a bottle

Then 5l of gel is £30 that fills 100 bottles

So for £91 you could have 100 bottles... £5 a pop .. everyone gets one for their bag ..

 

[BubbaP]

^ surely it would cost more than that to import sanitizer from the USA - cheaper to buy sanitiser from the UK ??

I'm with Traminator and Imurg and the foam fillers. I think having them a bit wider like Traminator's picture would be best.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Turns out ours were very similar to these. Not sure what we paid for them but hope it wasn't as much as the link https://www.bmsproducts.com/shop/holecutters-cups-accessories/accessories-holecups/golf-ball-lifter/

 

[SammmeBee]

Turns out ours were very similar to these. Not sure what we paid for them but hope it wasn't as much as the link https://www.bmsproducts.com/shop/holecutters-cups-accessories/accessories-holecups/golf-ball-lifter/

No discounts in COVID-19!!!

 

[sunshine]

View attachment 31496
I think some of you guys should start lobbying your clubs to get this simple situation fixed.

Saw these in B&Q today, 1 around the bottom of each pin cut to around 3 inches and job done, you have perfectly safe holes and nothing bounces out.
(Top tip, cut each 3 inch piece in half lengthways, you just slot each half inside the cup around the pin. )

We've gone down this route. Cheap, obvious, effective.