You are putting and you ask your opponent to tend the flag for you. You stroke the putt, But your opponent fails to pull the flag in time, and your ball strikes the flag stick.

What's your call?

beat your opponent with your putter???

That's called Mountain Golf. Especially prevalent in the corridor between PA and OH called the WVA Panhandle.. LOL.. no offense if we have any Mountaineers in the crowd..

It depends on the circumstances.
If the opponent did not remove the flagstick on purpose and the players ball strikes the flagstick, the one attending the flag is DQ'd.
If it was an accident, like the flagstick stuck in the hole, the one making the putt incurs a 2 stroke penalty or in match play loses the hole.
There are other scenarios that could cause different rulings, but these are the two main occurances.

I go with Bill's answer.

Bill, isn't the rule that when all players' balls are on the green the flag stick must be removed from the hole?

You don't have to have the flag taken out. You can have it attended at any time. As long as it's out of the hole when the ball get there.

I like Klun's answer.

PLEASE don't encourage or humor Klun.

I'm sure Bill will have the right answer, which is probally a 1 or 2 stroke penalty for the guy putting if it was an accident. If it was an accident and I was playing with friends we most certainly would credit the putt to the guy (sprit of the moment rules)

Fred, I agree..... spirit of the moment rules.................
Just last week, I watched a guy rob a convenience store and shoot the young girl behind the counter. It was obvious he needed the money, so I told the police I didn't see anything.

Fred, you love it when I type this kind of stuff huh?

Bill I sure do..

Unfortunity, Bill is correct as always. I say unfortunitly, because I think it stinks that the golfer putting gets a penality due to the guy tending the flag being too slow removing it from the cup. But that's the rule. I don't think it's right, but it's the rule.
And next question. Why wouldn't someone tending a flag, not just pull the flag stick out of the hole, and set the tip of the stick down just behind the back of the cup? This would eliminate the chance of this happening, and remove the chance of the flag getting stuck in the bottom of the cup, which we all know can happen. The golfer would be able to see the hole okay, which is really the only reason to have someone tend the flag. And the chance of a penality is removed. Sorry to complain about the rules, but I really hate to see a golfer get a penality due to his opponent being too slow to react. If it was his OWN caddy, I could go along with the penality, but not his opponent.

I just thought of something about Bill's answer. IF the flag was left in on purpose, the attending golf is DQ-ed. If he was just a little slow and it was an accident, it's a 2 stroke penaliy for the golfer putting.

This is very interesting. I say this because most of the rules of golf do not allow for human judgement to come into play, It's either this or it's that. In this case, the opponent, could have done it on purpose, and just pulled the stick at the last second to make it look like he was trying to do the job. Or he could have just been slow, and it was an accident. HOW DOES ANYONE KNOW FOR SURE?

And if it was declared an "ACCIDENT", Then why is it a penality on the golfer putting? and not on the opponent that had the "ACCIDENT" ?

DON'S RULES OF GOLF;

If it was my rule book, and this happened, it would be,
ONE PUTT HOLED, NO PENALITY, END OF DISCUSSION.

It's not legal to use any devise to point out line.

The best way to tend a flagstick is to pull it out to make sure it isn't stuck and set it back in the hole, but not in the hole that seats it.

Being a little slow to pull the pin is not considered an accident. An accident would be if the pin were stuck and wouldn't come out, or if a witness testified the opponent tending the pin was looking away and didn't know they were putting.

If it is declared an accident, the penalty is on the putter because they are responsible for the flagstick while they are making a stroke.

Don, you're looking at this as if the one doing the putting is a victum...................Unfortunately, very seldom is a person a victum, they're usually volunteers.

If it were your rule book, it would be a different game with a different name.

I can't imagine that all the people playing this game would like being called "Goofers" instead of "Golfers."

Right, you can't set the pin down on the ground because that leaves a mark to mark the line, even though we aren't meaning to do that, that's what the rules say. So if you're going to tend it, do like Bill says.

Or just don't ask, and pull the pin and lay it out of the way and if someone asks, you reply "you need the pin in for that putt????"

OOOOOOH! I see Dr. Rushing carries a "needle" around.

Don I agree..speak to the USGA and I will support you.

Well, now this beg's a question..........................

Fred, when you say you will support Don, are you aware he considers himself a "Jock?"

The putter should make the putt, then run to the hole and pull the flag out before the ball reaches the hole. Simple enough.

Guys, I wasn't saying to LAY the flag stick on the ground behind the hole. I SAID TO PULL THE FLAG, AND THEN PLACE THE TIP OF THE STICK BEHIND THE HOLE, TOUCHING THE GROUND. To make this clearer, you hold the stick vertical, just like it was IN the cup. only you place the tip of the flag stick BEHIND the cup. This in no way can be considered pointing out the line. Your doing the same thing bill suggested, only placing the tip of the stick BEHIND the hole an inch, rather than inside the cup. I don't see any real difference in my suggestion and what Bill mentioned.

Don, I don'tt think you can do that. I think that it's illegal because it can/will make a mark on the green and that can be seen as marking the line of the putt. So that was what I thought you were saying but it's my understanding that's illegal. But I may be wrong.