How to Play the Flagsticks Golf Game

In the golf game known as Flagsticks, golfers are using the flagstick on each green as a unit of measurement. Winning a "stick" in this game means the golfer has accomplished one of two things:

1. To win a flagstick off the tee or on approach shots into the green, the golfer has to stick her shot inside the length of the flagstick from the hole.
2. To win a flagstick on putts, the golfer has to a sink a putt that is longer than the length of the flagstick.

In most cases, you won't have to actually take the flagstick out of the hole and lay it on three green, from the hole to your ball, in order to measure. You'll like be able to eyeball it to everyone's satisfaction.

To play Flagsticks, just agree on what each "stick" is worth, either in monetary value or points value. Then, each time a golfer's shot into the green stops within the length of the flagstick from the hole, and each time a golfer sinks a putt that is longer than the flagstick, the golfer earns the stick. At the end of the round, sticks are tallied and the differences paid out. That makes Flagsticks a great game to include in those catch-all points games variously known as Dots, Junk, Trash, Garbage and Supplemental Bets.

If this game sounds familiar to you, but not its name, that's because this game — or at least the two different elements of it (approachs and putts) — is also know, to some golfers, by multiple other names. Those include Polee, Pinnies and Poley, although those games sometimes involve only one or the other elements (approaches or putts) included in Flagsticks.

There is no such thing as a universal flagstick height in golf. Some golf courses use shorter ones and some taller ones, for various reasons. If you are playing a golf course with shorter flagsticks, then winning the stick on a hole will be a tad easier on putts and more difficult on approaches. If the flagsticks are longer, then it will be a bit easier to earn a stick on approaches and a smidge more difficult to do so on putts.

More golf games:

• The Ringer Tournament explained
• How to play the Umbrella game
• The Shootout in golf: 3 different versions