Frogger Blogger Takes: New Golf Rules

As we are avid golfers at Frogger, we feel that it's a good time to add our perspective to some of the changes 2019 has brought to the game. This has already been a transformative and exciting year. New rules have been implemented and people are taking sides. The new PGA Tour schedule also went into effect, and we are already right in the heart of the season. For the first time in a while, it feels like the game is growing, and we are excited about the future of this sport that we love. Here's our take on a couple of golf's hottest topics. Pin in vs out: What this really boils down to is preference. If you think you putt better with the pin in, you probably do. Golf more than anything is a game of confidence. Whatever helps you make a more confident stroke is what you should do. That being said, there are some interesting statistics out there as to why most argue that the pin should be left in for every putt. MyGolfSpy did an impressive study about the speed of the ball hitting the pin from different distances. Here are the results: - Leaving the flag in keeps the ball closer to the hole on misses - The rigidity of the flagstick matters, but in both cases, there is still an advantage for leaving the pin in. - Dead center hits on the flagstick provided the best make percentage and the shortest remaining distance on misses. - Off center hits on the flagstick still provided a higher make percentage versus taking the pin out. Despite the statistics telling golfers to leave the pin in, when it comes to saving time, we don't think this new rule helps at all. If anything, you're going to have multiple people within a group want the pin to be removed/not removed. If that's the case, this rule will increase time spent on the green. However, if you're playing through or just trying to play fast, leaving the pin in can be advantageous towards moving on to the next hole quickly. If you're really worried about pace of play, let's get some more of these Latch-It magnetic attachment products in the game so people aren't fumbling around for rangefinders, towels, brushes, and the like. Backstopping: This one is pretty ridiculous. For anyone unfamiliar, backstopping is when two players are chipping and the one who goes first doesn't mark their ball after they hit, especially if it's past the hole. If the second player was to hit the first player's ball, it would stop that ball and the first player could replace their ball where it initially was. The argument against this is that it gives the second player a "backstop" of sorts, even though that backstop is 1.68 inches wide. There's no rule about this, and one should not be implemented. If anything, not having to go up and mark your ball before the second player hits saves at least a minute. Also, if you're good enough to be able to hit that first players ball intentionally, please email us at info@froggergolf.com so we can get some short game lessons. Dropping from knee height: This one is a little crazy. We've all seen Rickie make fun of this by now, and we can't say we're mad at him. The old drop rule was fine, and whether shoulder or knee height, it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. If the ball was going to roll closer to the hole from shoulder height, chances are it will from knee height as well. If we really want to speed up the game, let's just eliminate drops altogether and allow players to place the ball on the ground. If you have some thoughts on these topics we'd love to talk! Comment below or feel free to reach out to us on our social media accounts @froggergolf!