Sometimes, all it takes to create chaos is one spicy question. And ladies and gentlemen, this is that spicy question. Within five minutes of dropping Can you call it a career round if you took gimmes? into our Golf Digest Slack channel, the responses started pouring in. Some were brief, others went on long diatribes and a few threw in a red X emoji and called it quits.
We have both sides here, and everyone seems to be firmly entrenched in their takes, which is how you know the debate won’t be stopping anytime soon. We’re sure you have your own opinion, so please read on and get furious no matter which way you’re leaning.
Christopher Powers, Staff Writer: No.
Stina Sternberg, Vice President, Golf Digest Studio: You can definitely call it a career round if the gimmies you took were short, easy kick-ins. If any of them were longer than two feet (or if they were downhill/sidehill sliders), then no. I'm of the firm belief that golfers know exactly where the line is between a definite gimme and a putt that would have been a little tricky. If you don't putt out on the even slightly tricky ones, the round is unofficial.
Ron Kaspriske, Senior Editor, Instruction: Since most golf is played in some sort of match-play format (Nassaus, closeouts, etc.), it’s nearly impossible to get through a round without raking a putt or two. Here’s something else to consider: Let’s say you played the first hole terribly, maybe even pocketing the ball after taking the mandatory net double bogey for your handicap. Then, in an incredible recovery, you rattled off 17 of the best holes of your life—a few birdies, a bunch of pars, just really great golf. Does that poor start negate what you just did? Not in my mind. It’s a career round (as defined by you, no one else). Well done.
Greg Gottfried, Web Producer: I think it ultimately depends on what you deem a gimme. If it’s close enough where you’re 100 percent sure—and by 100 percent, I truly mean 100 percent—it’s going in, sure. Pick it up and move on. But anything more than that, and I’m getting suspicious. There are so many short putts that I’ve screwed up for no other reason than the pressure of how dumb I’ll look missing that putt that it feels iffy to take a long gimme and feel great about your “career round.” Your best round will come. Don’t lie, especially to yourself.
Stephen Hennessey, Managing Editor, Courses & Travel: I have personal experience on this one. I had to add a huge asterisk to my career-low 80 because my 10-footer was hit back to me on the last hole since my putt didn’t matter for a match. It wasn’t till we added up our scores after the round that I realized that putt would’ve actually been for 80. It sucked to tell that story for years until I matched that 80 recently without gimmes. You can count your career-low round with gimmes if you want. Just know that you’ll be judged for it.
Sam Weinman, Editorial Director: Can you call it a career round if you take gimmes? Sure, you can CALL it whatever you want, especially since most golf rounds in our modest worlds are significant only to ourselves. Personally, I don't want to cloud the satisfaction of a low round with any nagging "Yeah, but I raked that one …" doubts. As long as the dream is still alive, I'll putt everything out knowing I want a record showing to stand under scrutiny. And then, when everything inevitably falls to pieces, I'll lower my standards and get the hell off the green. If I'm destined for mediocrity, I at least want to be fast.
Joel Beall, Senior Writer: I understand these little debates are supposed to be light-hearted, but some are so fundamentally wrong they make me question the very fabric of who we’ve become. Can you call it a career best if you took gimmes? That's like asking if you can call yourself a chef after microwaving a Hot Pocket. My God, our founding fathers didn't fight the British and get bailed out by the French so future generations could count a three-foot putt they never actually made. George Washington couldn't tell a lie, but apparently some folks think they can shave three strokes off their scorecard from conceded four-footers and still sleep at night. What's next? Are we going to let people claim they ran a marathon if they took an Uber for the last six miles? Will we allow someone to say they climbed Everest if they took a selfie at base camp? I guess the only thing I can do is pray for the poor souls who even think this is a debate, because they clearly don’t have the brains or heart to see the gap between their side and the side that’s true.
