Ask Linda #122-Putting issues

Hi Linda,
Two weeks ago I stopped someone marking their ball as someone else in the group had already putted and the putted ball had not yet come to a halt (they were concerned their ball was going to be hit). I’m sure this saved them a two stroke penalty (from altering conditions whilst the ball is in play). Last weekend the same experience happened. The only difference was that the person was putting from the fringe and not on the green. After a short discussion we decided that the two stroke penalty did not apply. Did we get it right on both occasions?

If we did get it right, the rule about altering conditions whilst the ball is in play (i.e. someone putting) seems like we should forever be penalizing shots – not from marking balls but from repairing pitch marks on the green. It always seems that someone is repairing part of the green (away from the line of the current putt). Does this mean that we should stop all repairs to a green whilst someone is putting? If so, it would seem that we would slow play down even further.

Could you also clarify who gets penalized for hitting another ball on the green, the person putting (from on the green) or the person who failed to mark their ball?

Thanks,
Lou Lou

Dear Lou Lou,

Once a ball is in motion, you are not permitted to lift another ball that might be in its path (Rule 22-2). The penalty for doing so is two strokes (loss of hole in match play), and it is assessed to the player who lifted his ball. You were correct, Lou, in stopping the player from marking and lifting his ball with another player’s putt heading his way. From your description, both of these balls were on the green. If the putted ball were to hit the other ball, then the player who putted the ball would incur a two-stroke penalty in stroke play (Rule 19-5a); there is NO penalty for such contact in match play (play the putted ball as it lies, replace the ball that was moved by the putt).

When you are putting a ball that does not lie on the green, it is not technically a putt. Rule 22-2 is still in effect – you may never lift a ball when another ball in motion is heading its way. However, if you are putting a ball from the fringe and your ball hits a ball lying on the green, there is no penalty. Remember that both balls must by lying on the green and you must be involved in a stroke play competition for the two-stroke penalty to be imposed. If that ball putted from the fringe strikes the ball on the green, then play the putted ball from wherever it ends up and replace the ball that was moved (Rule 18-5).

It is not specifically prohibited to fix ball marks away from another player’s line of putt while he is putting. However, this raises an etiquette issue. I would not recommend any movement on the green that would distract another player who is trying to putt. The customary procedure is for players to mark and lift their balls and repair their ball marks when the arrive at the green, and to remain still and quiet and stand neither behind the ball nor directly behind the hole when another player is putting. If you haven’t had an opportunity to fix your ball mark prior to another player’s putt, then you should delay fixing it until the ball is in motion. (I’m assuming, of course, that your ball mark is not in his line of putt; in that case either you or the player involved would want to repair the mark prior to putting.)

I answered your last question in an earlier paragraph, but I believe it bears repeating. With both balls on the green in a stroke play format, the player who putts the ball is penalized two strokes if his ball hits the other ball. Perhaps this will be easier to remember if you think of it this way: When you putt, you are responsible for what happens to your ball. Before you putt, look at your line and be sure to ask any other player whose ball is in the vicinity of that line to mark and lift his ball.

Linda

Copyright © 2009 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.