Tending the Flag
Tending the flag means holding the flagstick while another golfer plays and lifting it out of the hole as the ball rolls toward the cup. It lets the player see the hole from a distance while keeping the flagstick clear of the ball’s path.
What is tending the flag?
The courtesy plays out on and around the putting green. One golfer, or a caddie, stands beside the hole, holds the flagstick steady while a playing partner putts or chips, then pulls it out before the ball arrives. The flagstick, also called the pin, marks the hole from far away, and on a long putt a golfer can struggle to see the cup once it has been taken out. Tending solves that. The flag stays in as a target during the stroke, then comes out so the ball has a clear route.
The word “tend” here just means to look after or attend to something. The person tending is not aiming or advising. They are holding the pin and timing its removal, usually as a favour between partners or automatically as part of a caddie’s job. Since a 2019 change to the rules made it legal to putt with the flagstick left in, tending happens far less often than it used to. Golfers still ask for it on long putts and awkward greens.
How tending the flag works
The sequence is easy to picture. Once everyone has reached the green, one player asks whether anyone wants the flag left in. If a golfer facing a long putt says yes, someone stands by the hole and takes hold of the top of the flagstick. As that golfer strikes the putt, the person tending watches the ball. The moment it is clear the ball is on its way, they lift the flagstick straight up and step aside so it can drop.
Two things define the job. The flagstick has to come out before the ball reaches it, because a putt that strikes an attended flagstick brings a penalty, which the rules section below covers. And whoever is tending stays still and out of the way, with their shadow and feet clear of the line the ball will travel. Past that, tending is about timing rather than skill.
Tending the flag vs. leaving the pin in
Both choices answer the same question: what happens to the flagstick while a player putts. They are not the same thing, though, and the difference catches out a lot of newer golfers.
Leaving the pin in means the flagstick stays in the hole for the whole putt, untouched. Nobody holds it, and the ball is allowed to strike it. Tending means a person holds the flagstick and removes it as the ball approaches, so the pin is in for the aim but gone by the finish. A third option, removing the pin, takes it out of the hole entirely before the stroke.
| Option | What happens to the flagstick | Who handles it | Can the ball hit it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leaving the pin in | Stays in the hole the whole time | Nobody | Yes, with no penalty |
| Tending the flag | Held, then lifted out as the ball nears | A partner or caddie | No, it is removed first |
| Removing the pin | Taken out before the stroke | Any player | No, it is already out |
Tending sits in the middle. A golfer picks it when they want the flag as a target during the stroke, but a clean, open cup by the time the ball arrives.
The rules on tending the flag
The rules around the flagstick changed meaningfully in 2019, and plenty of older advice has not caught up. Under the current Rules of Golf, the flagstick is covered by Rule 13.2, not the old Rule 17 that some sites still cite.
Here is what matters for tending. A player has to decide before the stroke whether the flag stays in, gets removed, or is tended. Once a golfer asks someone to tend the flag, the Rules treat that as a decision to have it removed, so the person tending must pull it. The golfer cannot change their mind mid-putt.
If a putt hits an attended flagstick, or the person holding it, the player gets the general penalty, which is two strokes in stroke play or loss of hole in match play, according to the USGA. Responsibility sits with the golfer who authorised the tending, even when the person tending was just too slow. That is the real risk tending carries.
The 2019 change is also why tending faded. Before then, a ball played from the green that struck a flagstick left in the hole cost two strokes, so players cleared the pin or had it tended. A ball can now hit an unattended flagstick with no penalty at all, from anywhere on the course, which is why some golfers, Bryson DeChambeau among them, often leave the pin in and skip tending.
When golfers still tend the flag
Long putts are the classic case. From 40 or 50 feet, the hole can be hard to pick out against the green, and the flagstick gives the eye something to aim at. A golfer keeps it tended to hold that target through the stroke, then gets a clean hole for the ball to drop into.
It also comes up just off the green. Someone chipping from the fringe might ask for the flag to be tended, though many players now leave it in as a backstop instead. Wind is another trigger. A flag snapping in a gust is more distraction than help, so a player has it tended and carried away. None of this is required. Tending is a preference, and a courtesy most golfers are glad to return.
Related Golf Terms
- Putting average — The average number of putts taken per green hit in regulation.
- Greens in regulation percentage — The percentage of greens reached in the expected number of strokes.
- Going for the green — The rate at which a player attempts to reach par-5 greens in two.
- Bounce back — The rate of scoring under par on the hole after a bogey or worse.
- Make percentage — The rate of holing putts from a given distance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who removes the flag when it is being tended?
The person tending it. Whoever holds the flagstick, usually a playing partner or caddie, lifts it out as the ball approaches. The golfer making the stroke does not touch it.
Is there a penalty for hitting the flag while it is tended?
Yes. If a putt strikes an attended flagstick or the person holding it, the player gets the general penalty, two strokes or loss of hole. The penalty falls on the golfer who asked for the tending.
Can you tend the flag from off the green?
Yes. The flag can be tended for any shot from anywhere on the course, including a chip from just off the green. In practice, it is mostly requested for long putts.
Do you still need to tend the flag after the 2019 rule change?
No, it is optional. Since 2019, a ball can hit an unattended flagstick with no penalty, so many golfers leave the pin in rather than tend it. Tending is still available whenever a player prefers it.
What is the difference between tending the flag and attending the flag?
They mean the same thing. “Attending the flagstick” is the wording used in the official Rules of Golf, while “tending the flag” is the everyday phrase golfers use for it.
Sources
- United States Golf Association (USGA). “Rule 13 – Putting Greens.” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/custom-search-pages/rules/2019-golf-rules-and-interpretations/pe-rule-13.html - United States Golf Association (USGA). “Major Changes: Ball Played from the Putting Green Hits Unattended Flagstick in Hole.” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules-hub/rules-modernization/major-changes/ball-played-from-the-putting-green-hits-unattended-flagstick-in-hole.html - The R&A. “Rule 13 – Putting Greens.” Accessed August 2026.
https://api.randa.org/en/rog/2019/rules/the-rules-of-golf/rule-13 - Golf Digest. “The Written and Unwritten Etiquette of the Flagstick.” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/rules-the-written-and-unwritten-etiquette-of-the-flagstick - GOLF.com. “2019 Rules Changes: Why the Flagstick Is Now Your Friend.” Accessed August 2026.
https://golf.com/instruction/2019-rules-changes-leave-flagstick-putting/ - National Club Golfer. “Golf Flagstick Rules: Everything You Can (and Can’t) Do With the Pin.” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.nationalclubgolfer.com/rules/golf-flagstick-rules/
