Martyn W

Not only is there a penalty for touching the line of putt but also for touching the green to indicate the line of putt, whether on the line or not. 8-2b When the player's ball is on the putting green, the line of putt may be indicated before, but not during, the stroke by the player, his partner or either of their caddies; in doing so the putting green must not be touched.

So that would be your response to a player who asks a legitimate Rules question? How do you expect to run a tournament when the committee picks and chooses which Rules to follow?

Which other Rules do you ignore?

The prefered term is "sandy areas through the green"

There is no Doug Sands listed in PGA members directory, maybe he was referring to the Potato Growers of America school??

@Groucho Valentine, you said this was a tournament; when you say "you let it go" does that mean you just posted the score and returned the card? If the committee was not informed that a second ball was played, the player is DQ. "Before returning his score card, the competitor must report the facts of the situation to the Committee. If he fails to do so, he is disqualified."

@iacas, I edited my post to, hopefully, explain that. As soon as he invoked 3-3 he had to play his provisional; the original was a wrong ball at that point.

When Leal invoked 3-3, the two balls were the dropped ball (with which he never finished the hole) and the provisional. He never played the provisional (his FC did). Since the ball he holed out with was neither of 3-3 balls, it was a wrong ball therefore he had no score for the hole. Pretty straightforward (I think?)

That is fine. Sounds like a lot of loft, though. A 5 or 6 iron might work better 🙂 D4-1/3 4-1/3 Status of a Chipper Q.What Rules apply to "chippers"? A.A "chipper" is an iron club designed primarily for use off the putting green, generally with a loft greater than ten degrees. As most players adopt a "putting stroke" when using a chipper, there can be a tendency to design the club as if it was a putter. To eliminate confusion, the Rules which apply to "chippers" include: The shaft must be attached to the clubhead at the heel (Appendix II, 2c); The grip must be circular in cross-section (Appendix II, 3(i)) and only one grip is permitted (Appendix II, 3(v)); The clubhead must be generally plain in shape (Appendix II, 4a) and have only one striking face (Appendix II, 4d); and The face of the club must conform to specifications with regard to hardness, surface roughness, material and markings in the impact area (Appendix II, 5).

The wife does not agree!

I was at the Atlanta workshop this week - if you scroll to the bottom of the download and go to 'settings' you can select 'expert' mode to get the Interpretations too.

The 2019 definition is 'Nearest point of complete relief' Much better!

Yes, @Rulesman posted the Rule (17-4) earlier in the thread

17-4 ('/' denotes a decision, not a Rule subsection) is applicable. If the ball does not fall into the hole then yes, D16/3 applies

Not holed. See the definition: 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.

The Rule is 6-6 6-6. Scoring in Stroke Play a. Recording Scores After each hole the marker should check the score with the competitorand record it. On completion of the round the marker must sign the score card and hand it to the competitor. If more than one marker records the scores, each must sign for the part for which he is responsible. See also 33-5

As Bobby Jones said after being praised for calling a penalty on himself: "You might as well praise a man for not robbing a bank."

He would actually be DQ since the wrong place was a serious breach which was not corrected.

This situation is not a rub-of-the-green. A "rub of the green" occurs when a ball in motion is accidentally deflected or stopped by any outside agency

Your instinct is correct, the player is entitled to to the lie which his stroke gave him.

Yes (or very close as @iacas posted). "Exception: A player may not take relief under this Rule if (a) interference by anything other than an immovable obstruction makes the stroke clearly impracticable or (b) interference by an immovable obstruction would occur only through use of a clearly unreasonable stroke or an unnecessarily abnormal stance, swing or direction of play.

How about the WH on the left of the green at Augusta #11? Almost identical to the OP post and is marked yellow (with a DZ)

The criterion for marking red rather than is not really whether the hazard needs to be negotiated. The USGA philosophy is that the default is yellow; red only if "there is a good reason not to mark yellow" i.e. impractical to drop on a line back from the hole. I see the argument for red but I think the USGA would go with yellow for the reasons stated.

How on earth did the committee accept the card?? If the card is not attested he is DQ!! (6-6)