Golf- is it illegal to remove the pin before the ball is struck if the ball rests on the fringe?

A friend says one of his league partners told him that it was against the rules of golf to remove the pin if the ball is (or is about to be) struck from the fringe/apron. In other words, he says that the pin must be left in the hole until the ball comes to rest unless the ball's movement starts on the putting surface. Any truth? I can't find anything about it so please cite USGA golf rules if possible. Thanks.Golf- is it illegal to remove the pin before the ball is struck if the ball rests on the fringe?There are a lot of correct answers. You can have the pin removed before your shot or tended while you shoot or left alone if you're not on the green.



You can have somebody tend the flag on your tee shot. (At least, the rules allow it.)



Some minor points:

- You need to have the player's permission to tend the flag. If you see the ball rolling toward the hole, then run up and grab the flag stick, you will be penalized.

- You don't need to actually be holding the flagstick to be tending it. You only need to be near it.

- If you hit the flagstick while it is being tended (even if your shot was from the fringe), it's a two stroke penalty for you. (That means you better trust the person who's tending the flag!)

- If your shot is from off the green and no one is tending the stick, there's no penalty if you hit the stick.|||yes the ball has to be on the green (not the fringe) for the pin to be pulled.Golf- is it illegal to remove the pin before the ball is struck if the ball rests on the fringe?That's not true. You can remove the pin before your shot, if you like. Pros remove the pin all the time for chips.|||Page 49 Rule 17: The Flagstick

17-1 : " Before making a stroke from anywhere on the course, the player may have the flagstick attended, removed or held up to indicate the position of the hole."

There are 3 notes that follow but they serve to clarify the point not make exceptions.Golf- is it illegal to remove the pin before the ball is struck if the ball rests on the fringe?Ok the truth is you can have somebody tend it. Bascially what you have to do is have somebody stand holding the pin while you set up. Then after you strike the ball and it rolls onto the green, the pin is allowed to be removed but only after it has rolled on the green. Otherwise, if you are a single your out of luck.|||No, NO, No. You can remove the pin for any shot on the fringe. The ball does not have to be struck first. If a pin is removed though, The one that is furthest out putts. For example if you have a 2 foot chip and pull the pin, the guy or girl with the longer distance to the holes goes first.|||No, the pin can be removed before a shot from the fringe.|||No, the pin is a marker for the hole from a distance. Common courtesy actually dictates that you can stand near the pin for a partner's short chip/putt, and then if the ball looks like it's going in, pull the pin and step away. This isn't normally done, but you can do it. Of course, you risk getting hit by really bad shots.|||You can remove the pin at any time. If you want, you can have somebody go pull the flag while you're teeing off (They must replace it during the other players' turns though).



It is ILLEGAL to leave the pin in while putting on the green. You can have someone tend the flag if it's far away, but if the ball hits the pin during a putt from on the putting surface, it is a penalty. You're friend may have confused this particular rule and construed it to mean you could not take the pin out if you weren't on the green.