YOUR QUERIES RESOLVED
In a recent round, a fellow competitor’s ball hit the green before ending up on the fringe and I repaired his pitchmark on the way past. “If you make a pitchmark on the green and your ball ends up on the fringe, you can’t repair it until you have holed out,” he said. This sounds wrong to me, but I can’t find the relevant rule. Doh, GM website forum Under Rule 16-1c, a player is permitted to repair a pitchmark that lies on the putting green regardless of where the ball lies. Therefore, there was no breach of the Rules. However, the answer would be different if the pitchmark was lying on the fringe. If the pitchmark was there before your fellow competitor’s ball came to rest, he is not entitled to repair it if doing so would improve his lie, line of play, area of intended stance or swing (Rule 13-2). However, if it was created after the ball came to rest (e.g. by another player’s approach), in equity, he may repair it. A player is entitled to the lie which his stroke gave him. Shona McRae R&A assistant director - Rules