Hi Linda,
RULE 11.1: Exception – Ball Played on Putting Green in Stroke Play: If the player’s ball in motion hits another ball at rest on the putting green and both balls were on the putting green before the stroke, the player gets the general penalty (two penalty strokes).
Before 2019 the same rule said that the other ball should be "in play".
My Question is if you are putting your ball into the hole before another player has taken up her ball from the hole, do you get a penalty or is the inside of the hole not "on the putting green"?
Thanks,
Lou from Kumla, Sweden
Dear Lou,
There is no penalty if a player putts his ball into the hole while another ball (or two!) is at rest in the hole. A ball in the hole is below the surface of the putting green, not on it [Definition of “Holed”], and is no longer in play [Definition of “In Play”].
Some players prefer that the hole be empty; others don’t care. I belong to the latter group – anything to speed up play.
Linda
Copyright © 2019 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
