Rule of the week New Rule: Rule 13.1c(2) allows repair of almost any damage on the green: “Damage on the putting green” is defined to include all types of damage (such as ball-marks, shoe damage, indentations from a club or flagstick, animal damage, etc.), except aeration holes, natural surface imperfections or natural wear of the hole. Reasons for Change:
Because putting greens are especially prepared for playing the ball along the ground, the Rules allow the player to do things on the green that are not allowed anywhere else:
- The player may mark, lift and clean a ball on the green at any time, remove sand and loose soil on the green and repair old hole plugs and ball-marks on the green.
- Given this philosophy of allowing players to try to have a smooth surface for rolling the ball, there is no conceptual reason for prohibiting repair of other types of damage (whether made by players, animals, maintenance staff, etc).
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