The Rules
The putting green comes with its own special rules by Kendall Dunovant
CHRIS LANG
THE PUTTING GREEN IS ONE OF THE BEST PLACES YOU CAN BE ON THE COURSE , and not just because it means the hole is in sight . More importantly , the putting green is a place where you have special permissions and abilities under the Rules that you won ’ t find elsewhere . In this article , we will dive into a number of things that are unique to the putting green and important for you to know when you go out to play .
WHAT IS THE PUTTING GREEN AND HOW DO I KNOW IF MY BALL IS ON IT ? The putting green is one of the five defined areas of the course . Knowing when your ball is on the putting green is essential to being able to proceed under the Rules that apply to this specific area .
The putting green is the area specially prepared for putting on the hole that you are playing ( or , it can be the area the Committee has defined as the putting green , such as when a temporary green in the fairway is being used ). It is specific to the hole you are playing . The greens of all other holes that you are not playing at the moment are wrong greens from which free relief must be taken . Generally , the edge of the putting green is defined by where it can be seen that the specially prepared area starts ; for example , where the grass is distinctly cut for the putting green . A ball is on the putting green when any part of it touches the putting green or when any part of the ball is on or in something that lies on the putting green ( such as a ball sitting on a leaf on the putting green ). It is important to note that the ball needs to be touching either the putting green itself or something on it . The putting green does not extend upward , and therefore , a ball
Sue Lee lines up a putt at last year ' s VSGA Women ' s Amateur Championship . There are plenty of things you can do on the putting green that you can ' t do in other areas of the golf course . on the fringe that is overhanging the edge of the putting green is not treated as being on the putting green .
WHAT SPECIAL PERMISSIONS EXIST ON THE PUTTING GREEN ? There are many things that you can do when your ball is on the putting green that you can ’ t do elsewhere on the course . Let ’ s talk about a few of them .
Whenever your ball is on the putting green , you may mark the spot of your ball , lift it , and clean it freely . There is no limit to the number of times you may do this , provided that you do not unreasonably delay play . You ( or your caddie ) may also touch the putting green with a hand , a foot , a club , the flagstick , etc ., even if doing so to point out your line of play . The only restriction here is that you must not improve any of the conditions affecting your stroke in doing so ( meaning that you can ’ t improve your line of play for example ), and you also must not set an object down either on or off the putting green to show the line of play .
One of the big changes in 2019 that we still frequently receive questions about in the USGA Rules Department has to do with accidental movement of a ball on the putting green . If you accidentally cause your ball to move on the putting green , there is no penalty and you simply need to replace the ball on its original spot and play on . The same is true if you accidentally cause your ball-marker to move .
There are also some special privileges associated with the putting green itself that you have access to regardless of where on the course your ball lies . For example , you are allowed to move sand and loose soil when they are on the putting green , even if doing so improves your line of play . You are also allowed to repair damage on the putting green in order to restore it to its original condition . This means you are free to repair damage from shoes ( including spike marks ), animal footprints , and embedded objects , among other items . This is true regardless of where your ball lies .
WHAT ABOUT DOUBLE GREENS ? Some courses use one large putting surface with two holes as the putting green for two different holes . This is called a double green . The definition of putting green gives us some guidance as to how double greens are treated .
If a putting green is being used for two different holes , the entire prepared area is treated as the putting green when playing each hole ( that ’ s one big putting green !). However , the Committee may decide that they don ’ t want the entire prepared area treated as the putting green and has the option to define an edge that divides the double green into two distinct putting greens . If the Committee chooses to do so , this will make it so that when a player is playing one of the holes , the part of the double green that belongs to the other hole is a wrong green . This division of the double green is usually accomplished with stakes or painted dots .
It is a good idea to check with the Committee before playing a course with double greens to see how those greens are treated .
CONCLUSION The putting green is a good place to be — you have done something right to end up there ! With its special preparation comes special permissions that make the putting green a relatively forgiving area of the course . There is more to the putting green than was covered here . For more information , take a look at Rule 13 .
Dunovant works in the USGA ’ s Rules Department .
vsga . org J ANUARY / F EBRUARY 2022 | V IRGINIA G OLFER 15