Linda, your last two sentences of your answer to #296 stated:
“If the damage occurs after your ball has come to rest, you may repair it. A player is always entitled to the lie that his shot gave him.”
I am interpreting this to mean that if the cup is damaged by removing it or if spike marks are created “after” the ball has come to rest, they may be repaired – even if that action was caused by the player whose lie or line is being impacted. Please confirm.
Lou Lou
Dear Lou Lou,
If another player damages your line of putt after your ball has come to rest, you are entitled to repair the damage.
If you worsen your lie or line of play, you are not permitted to restore it to its original condition. If you fix any damage on your line that you have created, you have breached Rule 13-2 and will incur a two-stroke penalty (loss of hole in match play).
If you are attending the flagstick for another player, and the hole is damaged when you remove the flagstick, a Committee member should look at the hole and make a ruling. If no Committee member is nearby, then the best advice I can give you is to play two balls under Rule 3-3 and let the Committee decide which ball to count. Basically, if the hole is so badly damaged that it no longer conforms to the Definition of “Hole” (it must be round and have a 4 ¼” diameter), you are permitted to have the hole repaired before you putt. Any other damage should be repaired after everyone has finished putting.
As always, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If you are asked to attend the flagstick, make sure you can remove it easily before the player putts. If it’s stuck, you will have a chance to jiggle and loosen it before disaster strikes.
Linda
Copyright © 2011 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
