Rules Guy: Are you allowed to touch your ball after picking up your mark?

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Player A marked his ball on the green. When his turn to putt came, he removed his marker… then noticed the ball wasn’t aligned the way he wanted. He adjusted it without remembering to re-mark the ball. I called a one-stroke penalty. Was I correct? And does it matter whether he lifted the ball off the ground or simply rotated it? —Kerry Joyce, Euclid, Ohio

You were as right as rain, Kerry.

He was due one penalty stroke under Rule 14.1 for failing to mark the spot prior to lifting the ball — and this would be true even had he just rotated the ball, because by the internal definition in Rule 14.1, deliberately rotating the ball is treated the same as “lifting” it. You can’t spin your way out of that.

For more marking guidance from our guru, read on …

Rules

My tee shot landed in the first cut of rough. The next player to hit followed my path, with his shot winding up about 18 inches behind mine. He got to the balls first, marked mine, hit his shot, returned my ball to the spot where it landed, then moved on. Is that correct protocol? —Martin Vette, Yuba City, Calif.

While Rules Guy applauds your fellow player’s obvious desire to keep things moving along at a lively clip, his actions are potentially troublesome. (Also, “moving on” ahead of one’s playing partner can be both rude and dangerous.)

In stroke play, this Rapid Roy isn’t penalized, because under Rule 9.6 there’s no penalty for an outside influence moving a player’s ball at rest. In match play, however, it’s a one-stroke penalty under Rule 9.5 for a player moving and lifting the opponent’s ball without authority, instead of following the strictures of Rule 15.3b and requesting the player mark and move a ball that is interfering with his play.

It is worth noting that all of the above is true on the putting green as well, where there is one anomaly: Per Exception 2 Rule 9.5b, in match play the opponent gets no penalty if he marks and lifts your ball in the mistaken belief that it is his own ball. Dare I say, don’t touch anyone else’s ball without express consent.

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Got a question about the Rules? Ask the Rules Guy! Send your queries, confusions and comments to rulesguy@golf.com. We promise he won’t throw the book at you.