You must have heard of the crowned green conspiracy? No, it’s not a Hollywood blockbuster. This is where a putt finds a phantom break at the very last and veers off. It’s never just fate or just bad luck, though.
It’s always poor greenkeeping, or footprints around the hole, or an unrepaired pitch mark (that’s probably enough now) which has robbed our hero of a precious shot.
Golfers are becoming quite suspicious about this. Now they’re allowed to repair damage on the greens you occasionally see the more studious popping around like little turf inspectors hunting for imperfections.
Me? A little bobble halfway down the track is as likely to push my poorly struck putt back on line as deflect it off course.
So while we’re on the subject of putting practices, consider the following question: A player presses down the edge of the hole closest to their line. What is the ruling?
Is this bona fide or bound to be a penalty? Let’s take a look at some putting green rules…
Putting green rules: What do the rules say are allowed?
As I said earlier, there are things you can do to improve your lot on a putting green, and they’re listed in Rule 13.1c (2). Repairing spike marks is the obvious one, along with ball marks, scrapes and indentations caused by equipment or a flagstick.
You can remove embedded objects and you can also tamp down old hole plugs. But damage on the green does not include the “natural wear of the hole”.
So what is the aim? Is it reasonably repairing damage on the putting green – such as those ball marks and shoe damage? If that is the case then the rules allow it.
But if it’s being done to create a pathway to the hole, or to alter the ground and make it easier for that putt to find the bottom of the hole, then Rule 8.1a comes in if it’s improving the conditions affecting the stroke.
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Those affect the lie of the ball, the area of intended stance and swing, as well as the player’s line of play.
If that’s the case, then it’s a two-stroke penalty in stroke play and loss of hole in match play.
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 putting green rules? Let me you what you think, and send me your own rules questions, by emailing me at s.carroll@nationalclubgolfer.com or by leaving us a comment below, or on X.
