Earlier this year I ran across a forum post somewhere on the internet where the subject was whether or not to leave the flagstick in or out when putting or chipping from the fringe or slightly off the green.  Up until that point, I'd always been on the side of pulling the stick unless it was an extreme downhill lie from where I was putting/chipping.  After reading the forum post and seeing some good ideas on why to leave it in, I decided to try it.  My normal group of golfing buddies disagreed with me and I think they sometimes get a little irritated with me as even if two of us are just off the green, and even if the other guy is "out", he has to wait for me to play so they can pull the pin for the rest of the foursome.  Their reasoning for pulling the pin has always been that the professionals do it.  That was my reasoning also, until I read the theories put forth by the forum posters.

While wasting time and cruising some golf related websites earlier today, I ran across an old article on Golf.com about this very subject.  The author, a guy you might have heard of, Dave Pelz, decided to try and answer this question.  Using both a mechanical putting machine and a real life human golfer, they went through thousands of shots on different greens, different approach angles, and different ball speeds.  Their conclusions may surprise you.  Below are the results of their test.  To read the entire article, click HERE. 

 Of course, there were variables in conditions, including imperfect green surfaces, the edges of the cup becoming ragged and worn, the hole being higher in back than in front and acting as a "backstop," and so on. But over thousands and thousands of putts, these variables were more than compensated for. What did I learn? Leave the flagstick in whenever the Rules allow, unless it is leaning so far toward you that the ball can't fit. Here are a few special cases.

• Perhaps most surprising, when the flagstick leans either slightly toward the golfer or away, the odds of it helping to keep the ball in the hole increase: With the flagstick leaning away from the golfer, the hole becomes effectively larger; when the flagstick leans toward the golfer, the ball rebounds downward, again helping shots find the hole.
• Only in the most obvious case, when the flagstick is leaning so far toward the golfer that there isn't enough room for the ball, is leaving the flagstick in a bad idea. Check the flagstick before you chip to be sure it is sitting properly in the cup. (The Rules of Golf prohibit you from positioning a flagstick to your advantage. But you may leave a tilting flagstick as is or else center it in the hole.)
• Even if you don't hit the flagstick dead center, it still will aid you. It proved especially advantageous when chipping downhill and at faster speeds. I even believe the flagstick should be left in when you're putting from an inch or two off the green in the fringe. The flagstick will help you make more putts unless it is leaning severely toward you or it's so windy that it is moving and might knock your ball away.