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The Masters, one of golf’s legendary tournaments, finished over the past weekend. The weather was beautiful, the crowds were large, and the golf was fun to watch. There was just the right combination of beautiful scenery and dramatic moments to make it a sporting event worth watching on television. While watching the world’s best golfers duke it out over the course, we couldn’t help but wonder if the majority of our readers are aware of what the different colored golf flags on a course stand for. With that in mind, we decided this would be a great chance to share some of our knowledge about golf flags.

Golf flags have been used for centuries in order for golfers to be able to have a visual clue as to where they want their ball to land. Almost every course and iteration of the game uses some sort of flag. The notable exception to this is Merion Golf Club in Haverford Township, Pennsylvania which has wicker baskets adorning the top of pins instead of the usual flag. This system poses a particular challenge in that it does not allow the player to know which way the wind is blowing at that particular hole.

When you are watching a tournament such as the Masters you will notice that the flags are a consistent color and they typically display the tournament’s logo and/or sponsors that are involved with the tournament. There are often secondary flags attached to the primary flags that allow the golfer to know approximately where the hole is relative to the green. Sometimes the positioning of the flag on the flag pole indicates where the hole can be found. If the secondary flag is at the top of the pole it means that the hole has been cut on the back section of the green. A centered position means the hole is cute in the central portion of the green and a lower flag indicates the hole is in the front third of the green. These positions can also be indicated via the colors of the flags rather than positioning with a red flag indicating a front flagsticks position, a white flag indicating a middle position, and a blue or black flag to indicate a back flagstick position.

There are other flags involved in golf as well, such as the blue cart flag. The blue cart flag indicates that a player is allowed to drive their cart within feet of the green. This is usually due to the player having an issue that may prevent them from parking further off the green and walking up to it.

With the weather becoming increasingly warmer, we’re sure that there are going to be more and more people out hitting the links. If you have any golf related questions, feel free to sound off in the comments, and as always, if you’re looking for golf flags for your next golf outing, make sure you check out Parker Flags extensive selection of golf flags today!