As somebody who has played (at) golf for almost 90 per cent of his life, as somebody who believes in being a “rules follower,” I’ve never been comfortable with either taking or giving “gimme” putts. Perhaps because I know how to miss a one-inch putt. No kidding!
Or maybe it has something to do with the Ryder Cup. Since the latest America vs Europe confrontation is this week, the subject of “gimme putts” is appropriate. The most controversial Ryder Cup of all was the direct result of a gimme, allowed only because it’s a match-play competition. Fewest strokes doesn’t matter. Winning the most holes does matter.
In 1969, Jack Nicklaus conceded a two-foot birdie putt to Great Britain’s Tony Jacklin after Nicklaus sank his birdie putt. The match finished tied and the U.S., as defending Ryder Cup winners, kept the Cup. So the generous gesture by Nicklaus didn’t change the end result, only the 18th-hole score that tied the match.
Nicklaus was saluted for his sportsmanship. However, his U.S. teammates — including team captain Sam Snead — weren’t happy. They wanted outright victory, not a tie-and-you-win victory by sportsmanship. “We went over there to win, not to be good ol’ boys,” Snead snapped.
Over the next 50-plus years, Nicklaus occasionally defended what became known as The Concession. While doing so, he said he didn’t want to leave his friend Jacklin in the position of missing a putt when it couldn’t win the Cup. Many years later, he added: “The Ryder Cup in my opinion is a goodwill event that brings two golfing bodies together. It’s about camaraderie. It’s for bragging rights.”
There was another controversial Ryder Cup gimme, in 1991. The U.S. was one-up playing the last hole. On the 18th tee, Bernhard Langer (Europe) and Hale Irwin (U.S.) were tied — once again all the Americans needed to retain the Cup was a tie. On the green, both were putting for par, Langer from six feet, Irwin from 18 inches. Shockingly, Langer gave Irwin a his putt, which meant Langer had to sink a six-footer to win (or lose) the match. He missed, and Europe lost.
There was already bad blood between Paul Azinger (U.S.) and Seve Ballesteros (Europe) from another story. Langer’s “sportsmanlike” gimme at what was billed “The War On The Shore” (South Carolina coast) was considered a peace offering.
The alleged reason for gimmes is that they will speed up play. Really? If the putt is that short, you’re talking about saving a few seconds… yes, I know, valuable commercial time on TV.
Years ago, interviewing a Canadian touring pro named Arden Knoll (then a teaching pro after making three cuts on the PGA Tour), I discovered we had gimmes in common. In a wide-ranging discussion about much more than short putts, Knoll said: “Putting isn’t over until the ball is in the hole.”
What a novel idea!
Just for fun, I looked up the definition of “gimme” in a golf dictionary and this is what it said: “A putt is thought to be a gimme if it is within two and a half feet.”
Two and a half feet? Maybe I should be reconsidering this whole gimme thing!
