Hello Linda,
A player's ball was in the line of another player's putt. He
placed his putter head beside the ball and moved the ball the length of his
putter head. After placing the ball in a new position, he marked it with a
coin. The other player said this was incorrect. He said the player should have
marked his ball, then moved the coin away from his line.
Is there a right and wrong way?
Thank you
Lou
Dear Lou,
When a player’s ball on the green has not yet been marked
and lifted, and he is asked to move his ball to the side because it is on
another player’s line of putt, he has two choices:
(1) Mark the ball, lift it, measure one club-head length to
the side of the marker, and place the marker on the new spot.
(2) Place the putter to the side of the ball and put a
marker down on the other side of the putter head.
Both procedures are correct [Decision 20-1/16]. The player
must reverse his procedure when he replaces the ball. I always choose the
second procedure – anything to save time.
Be careful to line up your move with a stationary object
(trees work well, geese do not), so that you will replace your ball in the
correct spot.
I always recommend that players place their marker
upside-down on the green. This is a fail-safe way to remember to move your
marker back before you replace your ball and putt.
Linda
Copyright © 2012 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
