The flagstick conundrum, solved

Aug 6, 2026, 8:03 PM•golfdigest

Golf Digest

I have this crazy idea that when golf courses need to pair random people together, they should at least do so with other considerations in mind. Think about it: how fast they play, how much they talk, whether they walk or ride. It makes too much sense not to try. Here’s another big one: what do they do with the flagstick? It might seem like a trivial matter, but as Chris Powers notes in his latest Stupid Golf Problems column, the “flagstick dance” as one reader puts it, is a lot of awkward jostling that could be avoided if everyone was aligned from the start. “Oh, you’ll like Bob,” the starter might say. “He’s on the complete opposite side of the political spectrum as you, but at least he’s not one of those unhinged leave-it-in-from-four-feet types.” Everyone has a dream, and this is mine.

How to solve the flagstick conundrum

“The flagstick dance” doesn’t need to be so complicated.

By Christopher Powers

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Sam Weinman

“Acceptance” is one of those squishy sports psychology words average golfers don’t easily understand. A worthy example can be found in how Ryan Fox handled a brutal lie on the 15th hole of last month’s Open Championship. As Fox’s mental coach Karl Morris explained on the How Low Can You Go Podcast, it would have been easy for Fox to lament the unfairness of a shot that missed its intended target by inches, and was now buried in the lip of a bunker. “We probably had 500 conversations somewhere around the concept of acceptance,” Morris said. “This idea that you know you’re either dealing with the reality of the game in all its chaos and its unfairness or you’re in a story. At that point, Ryan could’ve gone to a story like ‘I’m unlucky. Why has this happened to me? I’ve just blown the Open.’" Instead, Morris said, Fox determined he simply needed to play out backwards. He went on to make bogey, but wasn’t deterred, and claimed the claret jug with a walk-off birdie on 18. “I actually think you could build a whole mental game seminar on those last four holes really,” Morris said.

Tod Leonard

It looks like Memphis is going from hosting a PGA Tour Playoffs tournament for five years—and a tour event for 68 years—to not being among the top-tier tournaments after 2027. The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported that FedEx St. Jude Championship officials have been told that the event at TPC Southwind won’t be part of the tour’s Championship Series that debuts in 2028. Not known yet is if Memphis—which has hosted the PGA Tour since 1958—will possibly have a spot in the upcoming second-tier Challenger Series. Tournament organizers said they are “disappointed” to not keep their status but are “encouraged by their plans to find other opportunities to bring professional golf to Memphis.” The longstanding St. Jude Classic was beloved by many on tour for having entertainer Danny Thomas as its headliner, with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as its primary charity.

Alex Myers 

There's a surprising stat working against Scottie Scheffler winning a fifth straight PGA Tour Player of the Year Award. As Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee pointed out on X, the World No. 1 leads the tour in a variety of impressive categories once again. But as Brandel also noted, there's one stat that likely will keep him from claiming the award again. At least, for now. Chamblee notes that no one has ever won PGA Tour POY with only one win. Scheffler won his first start of 2026 at the American Express in January, but has gone winless since despite racking up five runner-up finishes. Of course, he still has three more chances to change that during the FedEx Cup Playoffs, which he'll likely enter at No. 1 in the standings.

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