The Rules of Golf are tricky! Thankfully, we’ve got the guru. Our Rules Guy knows the book front to back. Got a question? He’s got all the answers.
My foursome was on the green putting out with the flag out of the hole, laying on the green. A player in the group behind us teed off, drove the green and his ball hit the flag. Is there any penalty to this impatient bomber? —Brad Henrick, via email
Verily (or, as the kids, annoyingly, would say, “Actually,”), per Rule 13.2b(2) there is no penalty to Mr. Big Hitter, other than a tsk-tsk for the lapse in etiquette.
Neither, it should be noted, would there be a penalty if it were someone in your group who had accidentally hit the removed flagstick — you simply play the ball as it lies.
To preempt the potential objection, “accidentally” means just that, as opposed to someone deliberately placing the flagstick beyond the hole to act as a backstop, for example, which isn’t a scenario worth contemplating, as Rules Guy lives in a world where everyone conducts themselves laudably, not fiendishly.
For more flagstick-related guidance from our guru, read on …
A player’s ball is laying a foot from the hole. He thinks the flagstick is a bit off-center, so he decides to center it, and, while still holding it in one hand, he sinks the putt using his other hand. Reading Rule 13.2a and b and the interpretations, I can’t understand if this action is allowed. Maybe you can help. —Marius Bugge, Norway
Rule 13.2a allows a player to have the flagstick centered in the hole.
Rules Guy: My playing partner hung his jacket on the flagstick while he putted. Is that legal?
Interpretation 13.2b(1)/2 allows a player to hold the flagstick in one hand while making a stroke with the other. But it also states that the player must not deliberately let the ball in motion hit the flagstick.
So, this player needed to let go of the flagstick before sinking the putt. He gets the general penalty of two strokes in stroke play or loss of hole in match play; the stroke does not count and he needs to play the stroke again without holding onto the flagstick — or pulling it from the hole before the ball strikes it.
A lot of angst over a one-footer, no?
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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.
