Rules Question - Ball "Holed"

[iacas]

This question and discussion will venture well into the silly, but bear with me.

The USGA defines a ball being holed as "A ball is “Holed’’ when it is at rest within the circumference of the hole and all of it is below the level of the lip of the hole." Failure to "hole" a ball to complete the hole is covered under rule 3-2.

If a competitor fails to hole out at any hole and does not correct his mistake before he makes a stroke on the next teeing ground or, in the case of the last hole of the round, before he leaves the putting green, he is disqualified.

My course has metal cups, and the ball bounces around before coming to

rest for two, three, sometimes four seconds. On a tap-in, I'll often bend over and pick the ball out of the hole before it's actually come to rest. Now, the odds are 0% that the ball will miraculously leap out of the hole, but technically , reading the rules, I'd be disqualified for doing this. Decision 3-2/3 says a little about this, but it'd require me to replace my ball in the hole before teeing off or, on the 18th, leaving the putting surface:

3-2/3 Competitor in Error Does Not Hole Out; Error Corrected Before Playing from Next Tee

Plus, it's not exactly the same thing - I've not "failed to hole out in error" - just in haste.

A friend and I thought for certain that there would be some Decision under the equity principle that a ball that has no chance of popping out of the cup would be considered "holed," but technically I see no such thing, and technically it's rare we ever complete a round of golf without breaking this rule (pros included). Have I overlooked something? Is this covered under a Decision somewhere? Because if it's not, it should be. But until it is, why, technically it's a rules violation.

[ragontona]

Per the USGA Rules and Decisions 2006-07

16/5.5 Player Holes Short Putt and Allegedly Removes Ball from Hole Before It Is at Rest

Q. A player strikes a short putt into the hole and removes the ball from the hole. His opponent or a fellow-competitor claims he heard the ball bouncing in the bottom of the hole-liner at the time the player was removing the ball from the hole, and therefore the ball cannot be considered holed in view of the Definition of “Holed” which states: “A ball is holed when it is at rest within the circumference of the hole ...” What is the ruling?

A. The ball is holed. The words “at rest” are in the Definition of “Holed” to make it clear that if a ball falls below the lip and thereafter bounces out, it is not holed.

[iacas]

That does it for this thread. Thanks.