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I was watching a Champions Tour event recently, and a player who shall remain nameless using a long (but presumably not anchored) putter missed a short putt. He dropped the flatstick in disgust, and it came very close to hitting his ball at rest. Had it done so, would there have been a penalty? —Mark Pozniak, Red Hook, N.Y.
1 thing you should always do if you’re stuck in a confusing rules situation
Surely any broom-wielding holdout has suffered enough indignity, no? And, in fact, this disgusted one would have been in the clear regardless, as the relevant Rule, 13.1(d), turns on the question of whether the player accidentally caused the ball to move, not on whether he intended to drop the putter.
As contact clearly would have been accidental, he’d simply move the ball back to its original location with no penalty … and try to hole another shorty with his longy.
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