How you mark your ball on the green isn’t important Saturday afternoon with friends. But in competition, it’s easy to incur penalty strokes or worse. Some players can get nasty over the littlest things (tic).
The Ball Must Return
I see all manner of marking and replacing the ball. What I see could be better. Here’s an example. Player A’s putt is roughly between the hole and player B’s intended line. Player B asks the ball to be moved one putter head to the left. Player A sets his putter head next to the ball, places his coin by the heel end of the putter, and picks up his ball. After player B putts, player A must replace the ball in its original spot. Unfortunately, this is almost impossible because of how the ball was spotted and can lead to penalty strokes.
How? Why?
Player A should have marked his ball first and then moved the marker. In this example, he placed his marker relative to the ball’s position. When replacing the marker, it will be where the BALL was initially. Placing the ball in front of the marking will now put it an inch (give or take) closer to the hole. Trust me, in competition, your playing partners will call you on it! They may also call you some unfortunate things as well.
Don’t get there in the First Place.
What to do? Avoid the situation by following a simple procedure every time you mark your place on the green. The first thing is only to touch your ball after it is marked. Never before. The second is the only place to put your mark is directly behind the ball in line with the hole, never beside it. Once correctly marked, pick up your ball and move the mark where ever needed.
Warning
Make sure you return your mark to its original spot before taking your putt! Failing to do so is also a penalty.
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