Can mark or cannot mark my ball for this...

Newbie Golfer Posts : 4 Join date : 2012-11-13

Hi All,
Recently I had a game and my ball landed on apron 6inches short of the green. One of my kaki's ball is 2 feet behind me.
He choose to putt his ball (instead of chipping as grass was short) and he requested that I mark my ball as its in his line of putt.
I asked if this is allowed as my ball is not on putting green yet.
He said golf rule permits this.
If he correct ?

Senior Golfer Posts : 278 Join date : 2009-12-22 Age : 56

Yes, I think so. He can request u to mark your ball. And if I am not wrong, u cannot clean your ball.

I think you are allowed to lift and mark your ball if your ball is in the way of your opponent next shot. But not sure which rule

Very Active Golfer Posts : 845 Join date : 2013-03-10

Yes since your partner asked, you can do so without cleaning the ball.

22-2. Ball Interfering with Play
Except when a ball is in motion, if a player considers that another ball might interfere with his play, he may have it lifted.

A ball lifted under this Rule must be replaced (see Rule 20-3). The ball must not be cleaned, unless it lies on the putting green (see Rule 21).

In stroke play, a player required to lift his ball may play first rather than lift the ball.

Note: Except on the putting green, a player may not lift his ball solely because he considers that it might interfere with the play of another player. If a player lifts his ball without being asked to do so, he incurs a penalty of one stroke for a breach of Rule 18-2a, but there is no additional penalty under Rule 22.

Penalty for Breach of Rule:
Match play - Loss of hole; Stroke play - Two strokes.

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You must put it back in the same place it was, and if that lie has been altered, this part of rule 20 comes into play:

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b. Lie of Ball to Be Placed or Replaced Altered

If the original lie of a ball to be placed or replaced has been altered:

(i) except in a hazard, the ball must be placed in the nearest lie most similar to the original lie that is not more than one club-length from the original lie, not nearer the hole and not in a hazard;

(ii) in a water hazard, the ball must be placed in accordance with Clause(i)above, except that the ball must be placed in the water hazard;

(iii) in a bunker, the original lie must be re-created as nearly as possible and the ball must be placed in that lie.

Senior Golfer Posts : 459 Join date : 2009-10-13

Great info! Thanks flashpacker!

Thanks man. Good stuff!

Just like to add on to say since you may not clean the ball, it is recommended that you lift the ball with your thumb and forefinger. Its a no no to put your ball in your pocket or wrap the ball in your palm as that would inevitably result in the ball being "cleaned".

There is such a thing as prefer the lie in PGA Tour rule. Read below:

Q. So how do I prefer the lie?

If the player chooses to prefer the lie of the ball, the position of the ball must be first marked. Most players will use a tee to mark the position of the ball but a coin or other similarly sized object is suitable. Once the ball has been marked, the player can then lift the ball and clean it if desired. The ball must then be placed on a spot no nearer the hole within the area specified by the Committee, e.g. within six inches.

It is worth noting that the specified area in which to place the ball can vary from club to club. Some committees will stipulate within six inches, others a score card-length or perhaps even one club-length. There is no hard and fast Rule, therefore it is best to check in advance the distance the placement has to occur, to avoid any unnecessary penalties.

This is something PGA Tour golfer Ryuji Imada would have been advised to do, to avoid the 26-stroke penalty he incurred at a recent tournament in China. Imada assumed he could prefer the lie of the ball within a club-length of its original position, as is standard on the PGA Tour. But the Local Rules for this tournament stated that the placement had to occur within the length of one score-card. When this was brought to Imada’s attention he informed tournament officials before signing his card. He was assessed a two-stroke penalty for each of the thirteen times he had preferred the lie outside of the prescribed distance and finally signed for a first round total of 24-over-par, 97!

I have seen Padriag Harrington exercised the above option whilst playing in last week Honda Classic and he has beaten the young Daniel Berger during the sudden death play-off ...

Newbie Golfer Posts : 4 Join date : 2012-11-13

"Preferred lie" has to be announced by the organizer and normally it happens when there was recent rain and wet ground, if ball lands likely be mud and grass.
If I am not wrong, you can only pick and clean the ball provided ball is on the fairway but not in rough.

Streamer2 wrote:: "Preferred lie" has to be announced by the organizer and normally it happens when there was recent rain and wet ground, if ball lands likely be mud and grass.
If I am not wrong, you can only pick and clean the ball provided ball is on the fairway but not in rough.

U are correct partly ... But u must mark the ball ... When you place the ball back to the ground, it must be further away from the hole and not more than a score card length or a club length depending on the club rules ...

nice info!

good info. But the player can play first instead of lifting the ball.

Newbie Golfer Posts : 4 Join date : 2012-11-13

In most parts of the world, its called "Preferred Lie" and in US, its called "Pick and Clean".
Both are the same thing.
If it's been declared for the round due to wet condition on fairways due to heavy rain, you can mark the ball, clean it and hand-place ball on a good lie (no need to drop shoulder height) within one club length but not nearer to the pin.

Sometimes me and my kakis play public courses and if fairways in terrible condition, we will declared "preferred lie" even on dry condition so we can enjoy our game.

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