Dear Linda,
Thanks very much for your continuation of the explanations
of the rules.
We have a problem here in the south of France with some
golfers who don't use a ball marker or coin to mark their ball on the green but
scratch an arrow or cross in the grass. This annoys many of us especially when
the marks are on our line. I realize that the method of marking in the Rules is
only a recommendation but wonder if I can penalize them under Rule 16-1d for Testing
Surface. We would really like to outlaw this system, which makes a mess of the
green.
Yours
Lou from France
Dear Lou,
The Rules recommend
that a player use a ball-marker, a small coin, or something similar to mark the
position of a ball [Rule 20-1, Note]. However, this is not a requirement. There
are other methods of marking a ball that are not recommended, but nevertheless are permissible, such as placing
the toe of a club at the side of or behind the ball, using a tee or a loose
impediment, and scratching a line [Decision 20-1/16].
This last method (scratching a line) is particularly discouraged
for the following reasons:
• The player may be testing the surface of the green (violation
of Rule 16-1d).
• The mark may be construed as indicating a line for putting
(violation of Rule 8-2b).
• The surface of the green may be damaged.
I would add that doing anything that might damage the green
is very poor etiquette. You should do everything possible to break players of
this lazy and potentially destructive habit. If it appears that they are
testing the surface of the green, you may certainly impose the
two-stroke/loss-of-hole penalty provided in Rule 16-1d. Perhaps you might first
try a positive appeal, such as: “Please use a small coin or marker to mark your
ball on the putting green as a courtesy to the green staff and your fellow
golfers.” Write this request (or a similar one) next to a basket of free
ball-markers where players register.
Linda
Copyright © 2016 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
