**Ask a golf course employee**

[nehianh]

[ QUOTE ]
Here's one I'll throw out there that is a pet peeve of mine.

Most courses have different colored flags to indicate front, middle and back. Unfortunately, most courses simply use a pattern that rotates. For instance, flag on #1 is front, #2 is middle, #3 is back and so on. Front, middle, back, front middle, back. The next day it is middle, back, front, middle, back, front, etc. Add and repeat.

Now I know why this is, when cutting the holes in the morning, the worker simply works backwards and takes the pin from #18 to #17, #17 to #16 and so on. It's easy. Well, I don't know about you guys, but I get sick and tired of knowing where every pin is going to be after I play the first hole. To make matters worse, my home course has 3 par 3's on the back nine, #11, 14 and 17. So the pin is always the same on every par 3! That bites.

But let's look at it one step further. Most courses are closed on Mondays and nothing is done with the pins. In keeping with the rotation, this means that the pins are in the same depth every Tuesday, or Thursday, or whatever. Imagine you only get to play golf on Saturdays. Well, using this system the pins are going to be in the same place every single time you play. EVERY TIME! That really bites.

I just don't see why more course don't just randomly cut the holes and stick the appropriately colored flag into them. That way you might have 3 straight fronts, or a 7 hole stretch with no backs.

BO

[/ QUOTE ]

Not sure what kind of courses you've played at but with ample size greens i think there is enough variance in pin placement to make everyone happy. at my course the flag was taken from 18 then they cup cutter would go from 1 to 2 to 3 and so on as to stay infront of the first group

[ntnBO]

[ QUOTE ]

Not sure what kind of courses you've played at but with ample size greens i think there is enough variance in pin placement to make everyone happy. at my course the flag was taken from 18 then they cup cutter would go from 1 to 2 to 3 and so on as to stay infront of the first group

[/ QUOTE ]
Well, I've played every type of course imaginable, but that's beside the point. My point was, would you be happy if you played every Saturday and each and every Saturday the pin was on the front of the 1st green?

BO

[nehianh]

oh i see, yeah that makes sense, i never cut cups but this year we didnt cut them everyday so i guess that was never a problem, but yeah that would probably be a downside

[tuq]

[ QUOTE ]
Now I know why this is, when cutting the holes in the morning, the worker simply works backwards and takes the pin from #18 to #17, #17 to #16 and so on. It's easy. Well, I don't know about you guys, but I get sick and tired of knowing where every pin is going to be after I play the first hole. To make matters worse, my home course has 3 par 3's on the back nine, #11, 14 and 17. So the pin is always the same on every par 3! That bites.

[/ QUOTE ]
Actually this drives me crazy too for some reason. Particularly when the par 3s happen to have the same flags every time because they're spaced three holes apart or whatever. I don't like that a lot of courses basically only have three setups because of this and wish there was more variety. But I suspect we are in an overwhelming minority; most people either wouldn't notice this or wouldn't care, so nothing is done about it. I see some courses try to add "some" variety to their sets by using 1-2-3 zones and not just rotating them, actually staggering them on some holes. But still, it means only three setups. The GPS company I was familiar with actually had six hole locations on each hole which would rotate throughout the week. But yeah, if you played on Sunday and then the next Saturday, you would see the same set.

Also, very few clubs out here are closed on Mondays, only some of the country clubs but not all of them, so the thing about flags being the same each day of the week isn't valid here.

[nehianh]

yeah the club i work at isnt really closed but there are private shotgun tourneys every monday which dont start until the afternoon. it is closed in the morning though so many members dont even get to play the pins for mondays