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Jack hits his approach to the very edge of the cup, while his teammates all miss the putting surface. He checks his ball but doesn’t mark it until the others are on the green, hoping it will fall during the extended wait. Is this allowed? – Daryl Laumann, via email
By “very rim of the cup”, you presumably mean that the ball is above the rim. In this case, Jack gets a reasonable time to reach the ball, from however far it might be, and then 10 seconds maximum to see if it will fall – if the other players have reached the green or not. (Clarification 13.3a/1 highlights the meaning of “reasonable time”).
If it falls within that 10 second period, great! If not, the result will be the same regardless of what happens next. If it falls after that 10-second period, the ball is considered holed with the previous shot, but a penalty shot is added to the score. If Jack marks it, then replaces it and falls in (regardless of time), he must replace the ball and tap it in. Or Jack just touch it already, without marking!
For more board guidance from our guru, read on…
I was the first person in my foursome to putt. After hitting it, I fixed the rim of the cup that someone had dinged with the flag. Another member of the group said I can’t do it until everyone in the foursome has finished laying down. Is it true? – Betsy Walden, via email
That, Betsy, is both false and against the spirit of our great game.
Under Rule 13.1c, damage to the hole may be repaired before or after the players putt. Please don’t do it during a putt if intended to affect a ball in motion, which would fall afoul of Rule 11.3 and incur the general penalty of two strokes in stroke play and loss of hole in match play.
We must not be deceived, despite our good intentions.
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