Dear Linda,
A ball is chipped in and holed. When the flag is removed the
holed ball comes out with it. Penalty or no penalty?
Lulu from Boksburg, South Africa
Dear Lulu,
No penalty. If the ball is holed, meaning it is at rest and
all of it is below the level of the lip of the hole, the ball is indeed holed
[Definition of “Holed”].
If the ball is leaning against the flagstick, and part of it
is above the hole, the player must place the ball on the lip of the hole and
putt it into the hole if the ball does not fall into the hole when the
flagstick is removed [Rule 17-4]. There is no penalty for moving the ball.
I always recommend, in this latter case, that the player
insist on removing the flagstick herself, and that she carefully tilt it away
from the ball before pulling it out. This should allow the ball to fall into
the hole, which will save her a stroke.
Linda
Copyright © 2017 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
