Monday, July 14, 2014

Ask Linda #879-Testing the surface off the putting green


Dear Linda,

A ball is lying through the green. A player asked if he could test the surface with his hands behind the ball prior to playing the shot. The reason he suggested was to establish if the grain was against the run of the ball or away from him.

Could you please advise if this would incur a penalty of some kind, or is this allowed?

Kind Regards,
Lou from Thailand

Dear Lou,

While a player may not test the surface of a hazard or a putting green, there is no reason he cannot test any other surface on the course. He must be very careful not to improve his lie or line of play, either of which would result in a two-stroke penalty [Rule 13-2]. If his action causes his ball to move, he will incur a one-stroke penalty and must replace his ball [Rule 18-2a].

Linda
Copyright © 2014 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.