Interestingly there are some quite detailed requirements regarding the flagstick in the Equipment Rules of Golf. Equipment Rule 8.1 covers, “The Flagstick.”
The pole itself can be no wider than two inches from its top to a point three inches above the surface of the putting green. From that point, to a point three inches below the putting surface it must be no wider than 0.75 inches.
The pole must be circular in cross section, and it must not have properties that act as a shock absorber if the ball makes contact with it.
There are also requirements for the flag or other ornament at the top of the pole – At Merion, among other venues, baskets are used instead of flags at the top of the pole.
Equipment Rule 8 details that it’s not permissible to have attachments to the flag or ornament that provide extra guidance on wind speed or direction.
Attachments to the flagstick are permitted to indicate hole location, provided they are more than three inches above the putting surface and of reasonable size. Also permitted are reflectors of a reasonable size for use with distance measuring devices – something to help a laser find the flagstick as a target.
But there is nothing in Equipment Rule 8 about the maximum height of the flagstick. Common sense is be the governing factor on how high a flagstick should be.
On a windy links course, a flagstick that was too high would be blown sideways or maybe even out of the cup. On flat holes where you can see the flag from distance, a height of about 7 feet would be appropriate.
On uphill holes where a shorter flagstick would be less visible, it might be that the committee would choose a longer flagstick to give players a sight of the target.
But anything above a certain height would be unwieldy and impractical. A flag over a certain height would be liable to damage the hole in windy conditions. The flagstick wouldn’t stay in the cup and it would be very difficult for players to remove and manage it.
Really, the maximum height of a flagstick in golf is decided by practicality and physics. You will certainly see taller flagsticks on some uphill holes but, beyond a certain height, they wouldn’t be functional.
Is there a height limit for the flagstick in golf? Technically no, but anything over a certain height simply wouldn’t work.
