Why would it be any different than cheating today? It's a game of honor. If you were playing the regulation cup and it went in the six inch cup you are just kidding yourself that it was a hole in one. Go ahead and hang the newspaper declaration on the wall. Anyone that could live with that I don't want to play golf with.

Gimmees - WOW. Need I say more. Ask a bunch of golfers what inside the leather means. After you get through that confusion then asked yourself is there any part of a putter that has a defined measurement across types of putters, grips, etc. Oh well at least there is an attempt to measure with the putter method. How about the old boy method - Oh I'm feeling good on this hole so you can have that gimmee. Oh I'm having a rough hole I didn't give you that put.

Speaking only for myself I have played golf long enough that my game is not seeing any major improvements. I am lucky enough to live here in The Villages and play golf anytime I desire. I play 5 times a week on average. It has become more of a social event for me Vs. the challenge of the game. A little variety may help me regain some interest in the game.

I'm willing to give it a try and accept what the majority decides.

I thought the goal was to make the game more appealing to newbies, not to speed up the game? :confused:

I've only played golf for a year. I like the challenge of the "normal" holes.
But I'm not opposed to trying anything new.

The hole that you are not playing should be deemed to be "Ground Under Repair" and the appropriate rule would apply. It is not a hole in one since that is not the hole that you were aiming at.
Extending automatic "gimmees" (which, except in match play, should never be given in my opinion anyway) would certainly help to speed up play.

Conceding putts, or any shots for that matter is a perfectly acceptable and legal part of match play.

I think that you make a very valid point. What my experience has shown me, and this is backed up by NGF data, is that better players get to the greens fairly quickly and are slow on and around the greens. The exact opposite is true for higher handicap players. They take a long time to get to the green and the chip and putt very quickly.
If objective of enlarging the hole is to speed play, then it should be done on the more difficult holes and for only single digit handicappers.

Seriously!

It is legal in Match Play but most of us are playing Stroke Play which does not allow conceding putts. However, since none of us are professional golfers and we're just out playing a friendly game (I hope), reasonable gimmees should be encouraged just to keep the game moving along. Remember the local double par rule.

USGA: Our Experts Explain

Since we've devolved to talking about slow play, let me throw out a few of pet peeves...mulligans, hackers giving other hackers lessons on the course, and folks loitering around the green after finishing the hole.

What local double par rule? Doesn't happen with anyone I golf with, though on many occasions I wish it did!:bowdown:

According to The Villages Good Golf Guide under the section on Play Ready Golf:

"Playing any hole after double par, please pick up the ball and proceed to the next hole."

My feeling is that they put the cup in the green for a reason and that is to put the ball in it. I concede nothing. You sink it or take a stroke. No gimmees unless you are double par!!!

z

zcaveman thanks. "seriously" as Sheldon says, "sarcasm"? Sorry I said it. Of course I know you can concede a putt in match play. The point was why would you care if the hole was slightly larger as an experiment on two of our 32 executive courses (I'm not 100% sure of that number) if you partake in the gimmee game. I think 99% of the audience caught that. I agree with you put the ball in the hole if your a purist. Ever notice how the gimmees get shorter the higher the stakes are. From my own experience I would have missed a fair share of those gimmee putts (and it wasn't match play) thus I can't be a purist. If we want to beat the technicality horse I believe it is not legal to report a score for handicap if the ball did not go into the hole. Now I'm guilty of not following the thread. Goodnight.

I don't play match play on executive courses. So no gimmees. I like El Santiago. When they add the 6 inch cups I assume they will keep the 4.5 inch cups. Two cups on a green will be confusing! HOWEVER, if they do have both cups, at the start of the game we will state which cups we will play. The other one is off limits. Simple rule!

I am not a purist, but I like to hear the ball plunk into the cup. Also, too many golfers miss short putts because of the gimmee rules that they play.

Z

Close....heard there will be 2 cups per green. one standard and one 6". :22yikes:

Again golf lost 5 million players n the last 10 years so those business people in the golf industry want to stop this exodus and then add numbers. The complaints were it cost too much, takes too long and is hard to master.

Taylormade sponsored an event a month or so ago in Greensboro, NC inviting some professionals Sergio Garcia etc. they cut 15"holes to experiment.

Enter TV with its Ready golf which isn't so ready and for some not golf.

Cutting 6"holes is going to work but it going to make some people feel better.

On the executive courses many players utilize the Callaway rule and thus do a in the pocket after 5-6 strokes. It also explains why the gimmees and the mulligans. I won't take a mulligan because in Scotland it means three but then I will pick up if I am 3-4 strokes and not finished. I will accept a gimmee.

However if a player also plays championship courses often than doing the mulligan and the gimmees is going to weaken his game

I suspect if a golfer plays a course with a 6"hole and a 4 1/4"hole he has to designate which hole he will use for that round. I also suspect that if a ball goes in the non designated hole its a free life and certainly not a hole in one.

Frankly as a purist I am saddened by the industry's willingness to dumb down this wonderful game.