flagstick

IPA/ˈflæɡ.stɪk/
IPA/ˈflæɡˌstɪk/

flagstick — noun

  • flagsticksingular
  • flagsticksplural

1. a tall thin pole with a small flag on top, set in the hole on a putting green so

1.nounC1
Definition

a tall thin pole with a small flag on top, set in the hole on a putting green so that golfers can see from far away where they should aim their ball.

Example

Ayesha asked the caddie to remove the flagstick before she putted on the 17th green.

collocation: remove the flagstick

From the fairway Christopher could just make out the red flagstick rising above the bunker.

typical scene: spotting the flagstick from distance

Common collocations
  • remove the flagstick
  • replace the flagstick
  • tend the flagstick
  • hit the flagstick
  • leave the flagstick in
Synonyms
  • pin

    informal everyday golf term; players say 'aim at the pin' far more often than 'aim at the flagstick'

  • flag

    loose shorthand; technically the flag is only the cloth piece on top of the pole

Grammar Patterns

the flagstick

remove/replace the flagstick

Usage Note

Only used about golf. Subject of common verbs is usually a player or caddie (remove, replace, hold, tend), or the ball (hit, strike, rattle).

Common Mistakes

He pulled out the flag stick from the hole.
He pulled out the flagstick from the hole.
written as one word, not two.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

On a golf course these three words all point to the same object but live in different registers. 'Flagstick' is the official term used in the Rules of Golf and in tournament broadcasting; commentators reach for it when precision matters, as in 'her approach finished six feet from the flagstick'. 'Pin' is the everyday word players actually use on the course — 'I'm aiming straight at the pin' sounds natural, while 'aiming at the flagstick' sounds stiff. 'Flag' is looser still and strictly refers to the small cloth piece on top of the pole, though casual speech extends it to the whole marker ('the flag is back left today'). When writing or reading rule books, use flagstick; when talking with playing partners, use pin.

flagstick ↗pin ↗flag ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • flagstick position
  • flagstick rule

Phrases

  • tend the flagstick
  • leave the flagstick in

Prepositions

  • at the flagstick
  • near the flagstick

Etymology

English

A modern compound formed in English from 'flag' (the cloth marker) plus 'stick' (the supporting pole). The combined term entered golf vocabulary in the late nineteenth century as the sport's rules were being standardised, distinguishing the whole marker from just its cloth top.