Do I need to mark my ball when taking relief?
Is a ball-marker or a tee always required if you’re picking up your ball to take relief? Our Rules of Golf expert explains
A real-life example for you this week – one I actually had to rule on in a competition. It’s all about when you have to mark a golf ball.
A player found his ball next to a staked tree, which was classed in the club’s local rules as an abnormal course condition and, specifically, an immovable obstruction.
The player indicated he would take relief under Rule 16.1a and picked up his ball before establishing the nearest point of complete relief and dropping it in a relief area.
His partner believed he should have marked the position of his ball first and I was asked to adjudicate.
What do you think? Should he have popped in a tee peg – or your marker of choice – before lifting it, or was he perfectly entitled to just pick it up and take relief accordingly? Let’s get stuck in…
Mark golf ball rules: Do you always have to do it?
Prepare to be amazed. Rule 14.1a says that ‘when a ball is lifted to take relief under a Rule, the player is not required to mark the spot before lifting the ball’.
Don’t go all cavalier, though, and start lifting your ball willy-nilly in all circumstances. Remember if you’re lifting under a rule that requires your ball to be replaced on its original spot then you’ve got to mark that spot before picking it up otherwise you’re going to get a one-stroke penalty.
Got a question for our expert?
Despite the changes to the Rules of Golf in 2019 and 2023, there are still some that leave us scratching our heads. I’ll try to help by featuring the best of your queries in this column.
What do you think about these mark golf ball rules? Let me know by leaving a comment on X.
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
