Bird droppings are considered loose impediments, and therefore can be removed anywhere on the golf course, including the putting green.

ISTOCK

In the final round, Harrington hit a 6-iron approach shot to an elevated portion of the 14th green, leaving him 30 feet for birdie. But there was one problem— a big old pile of bird droppings sat right on his putting line.

Harrington knew the Rules of Golf allowed him to remove loose impediments, sand and loose soil on the putting green. But what about a giant pile of animal droppings that wasn ' t exactly loose and had to be scraped off his putting line?

Harrington sought out a rules official to answer the question.

“ I wasn’ t sure how much I could scrape it,” Harrington said after the round.“ I know you can brush it off, but I had to actually scrape it off the green.”

The rules official confirmed Harrington’ s original thought. Per Rule 13.1c, during a round, a player may take these two actions on the putting green, no

matter whether the ball is on or off the putting green:( 1) Removal of sand and loose soil( 2) Repair of damage

Though animal droppings are not specifically cited in Rule 13.1c, the rule notes that“ damage on the putting green” means any damage caused by any person( including the player) or outside influence, such as ball marks, shoe damage( spike marks), and scrapes or indentations caused by equipment or a flagstick. The Rule also specifically cites“ animal tracks or hoof indentations.”

Animal dung certainly falls into the category of damage caused by an outside influence— in this case, a bird— so a player is allowed to fix the damage without penalty using their hand, foot or another part of the body, or a normal ball-mark repair tool, tee, club or similar item of standard equipment.

Had Harrington’ s ball been off the putting green, he still would have been fine to remove the droppings, as Rule 15.1a states“ You may remove a loose impediment without penalty anywhere on or off the

course, and may do so in any way( such as by using your hand or foot or a club or other equipment.)”

Harrington cleaned the pile of dung, which was considered a loose impediment, from the green, then bombed home the 30-foot putt for birdie.

As a reminder, though,“ damage on the putting green” does not include conditions resulting from normal maintenance practices( such as aeration holes or grooves from vertical mowing), irrigation or rain, natural surface imperfections like weeds or bare spots, or natural wear around the hole. Attempting to fix the green in any of these cases results in the general penalty— two strokes in stroke play or loss of hole in match play— for a breach of Rule 8.1a, which covers conditions affecting the stroke.

As Harrington’ s query showed, it’ s better to be safe than sorry, especially with a senior major championship on the line. If you find yourself in a questionable situation, weigh your options carefully before making a mistake that could cost you strokes.