Marking a putting line.... is it in USGA regs????

[zrlaegel]

Marking a putting line.... is it in USGA regs????

[beisenhauer]

Rule 8-2 (b)

"When the player's ball is on the putting green, the player, his partner or either of their caddies may, before but not during the stroke, point out a line for putting, but in so doing the putting green must not be touched. A mark must not be placed anywhere to indicate a line for putting."

[iacas]

Do you mean drawing a line on your golf ball? Or what? Can you clarify what you mean?

[cougar978]

Marking a putting line.... is it in USGA regs????

If you're referring to marking a line on your ball, that's fine. Making any sort of mark on the putting surface to indicate your ball's path to the hole is a two-stroke penalty.

[zrlaegel]

i was referring to marking a line on the ball. thank you ~Zach

[VOX]

But be careful, one common infraction is people who rotate the ball to point the line at the hole without first marking the ball. you cannot realign the ball uless it has been marked.

[Chas]

That is a common infraction?

Wow!

(I'll take your word for it tho')

[cougar978]

But be careful, one common infraction is people who rotate the ball to point the line at the hole without first marking the ball. you cannot realign the ball uless it has been marked.

As long as you mark with something (when I'm playing by myself, I'll just mark with the toe of my putter, it is within the rules to do that), you're fine. When you're playing with others, it's best to use a coin.

[cody west]

iv layed my putter down on the green in a tournament

[mad max]

Isn't their a limit to the length of the line you can put on your ball for aiming purposes? I thought the pro v1 and others used the maximum allowable line length.

[iacas]

Isn't their a limit to the length of the line you can put on your ball for aiming purposes? I thought the pro v1 and others used the maximum allowable line length.

There's no limit. You can make a line go all the way around your ball if you want.

[Chas]

As long as you mark with something (when I'm playing by myself, I'll just mark with the toe of my putter, it is within the rules to do that), you're fine. When you're playing with others, it's best to use a coin.

When I have to move the ball a few inches to the side to get out of another player's putting line I will often put my putter head down as a guide, pick up my (unmarked) ball and put it down again on the other end of the head. Hopefully I remember to reverse the process before I putt myself ..

I've never really thought about it but from what you say this would presumably be legal in competitive golf. Is it?

[Chief Broom]

When I have to move the ball a few inches to the side to get out of another player's putting line I will often put my putter head down as a guide, pick up my (unmarked) ball and put it down again on the other end of the head. Hopefully I remember to reverse the process before I putt myself .

I've always heard this is against the rules (and thereby incurs a penalty). That the proper routine is to first mark your ball. Place whatever it is your are using to measure your ball in another direction outside of another's line to the hole from the marker. Place your ball at that new point and then mark the ball at that point so that it can be lifted from the green. I suppose you could use your putter head as your mark from the second position but that might prove to be ackward?

[sacm3bill]

From

http://www.usga.org/RulesFAQ/rules_a...dx=82&Rule;=20:

Rule 20-1 Procedure for Moving Ball-Marker to the Side Q. When moving a ball-marker to the side, must the position of the ball be marked first and then the ball-marker moved, or can I simply measure to the side of the ball? A. The player may either mark the position of the ball, measure to one side of the mark, and move the ball-marker to that spot, or he may place the putter head directly to the side of the ball and place the ball-marker, thereby eliminating one step. See Decision 20-1/16.

However, note that both methods described involve using the ball

marker , whereas the question was "Can I just move my ball?" This ruling doesn't cover that case. It's legal to pick the ball up without using a marker since you have the putter head there, but once you've put the ball down on the other side of the putter head and removed the putter without failing to mark the ball in some way, you're in essence using your ball as the ball marker. I'm pretty sure the ball marker has to be a "small, flat object". What happens if a gust of wind moves the ball, or it's deflected by someone else's ball from off the green? If it was in its original position you'd play it as it lies or replace, respectively. But if it's being used as a marker those rules are out the window. So I'd say that it's probably against the rules, and at best a bad idea. (Although I do it in casual rounds, to save time.)

[zeg]

Not so long ago we had a long thread about the requirements for a ball marker-- the rules suggest but do not require an object like a coin. In particular, you are allowed to use the toe of your putter as a mark, among myriad other legal options. However, there are few reasons to do this, and many reasons not to... Whether the ball itself may be used is sort of an interesting question, but I'd say it's ultimately a really bad idea...