The Rules of Golf Are Complicated! Thankfully, we have the teacher. our Rules Guy knows the book inside out. Have a question? He has all the answers.
My four was on the green taking the flag out of the hole, laying on the green. A player in the group behind us drifted off, missed the green and his ball hit the flag. Is there any punishment for this insufferable bomber? — Brad Henrick, via email
Really (or, as the kids would say, annoyingly, “Indeed,”) under rule 13.2b(2) there is no penalty for Mr. Big Hitter, except for a tsk-tsk for the label error.
Also, it should be noted, there would be no penalty if there was someone in your group who had accidentally hit the removed flagstick – you simply play the ball as it lies.
Barring possible objection, “accidentally” means just that, as opposed to someone intentionally placing the flagstick across the hole to act as a stop, for example, which is not a scenario worth thinking about, since the Rules Guy lives in a world where everyone behaves commendably, not mischievously.
For more flagstick instruction from our teacher, read on…
A player’s ball is putting a foot from the hole. He thinks the flagstick is slightly off-center, so he decides to center it and, while still holding it in one hand, sinks the dinghy using the other hand. Reading rule 13.2a and b and the interpretations, I cannot understand whether this action is allowed. Maybe you can help. – Marius Bugge, Norway
Rule 13.2a allows a player to have the flagstick centered on the hole.
;)
Rules Boy: My playing partner hung his jacket on the flagstick as he came. Is this legal?
Rules Guy
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 intentionally let the ball in motion hit the flagpole.
So this player had to drop the flagstick before sinking the putt. He incurs the general penalty of two strokes in play for hitting or missing the hole in match play; the stroke does not count and he must play the stroke again without holding onto the flagstick – or without pulling it out of the hole before the ball hits him.
A lot of anxiety for a leg, isn’t it?
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Have a question about the Rules? Ask Guy Rules! Send your questions, confusion and comments to rulesguy@golf.com. We promise you won’t throw the book at you.
