Is it legal to rake the grass around the hole before putting?

The Rules of Golf are tricky! Thank you, we have a guru. Our Rules Guy knows the book from front to back. Have a question? You have all the answers.

This morning, the gentleman in our foursome made a habit of stomping around the hole with his putter (always on his putt line, naturally). When I asked about this “garden”, he said that the green keepers were not doing their job well when they changed the holes. I know better, as I am one of those vegetarians. Which law should I cite? —Bob Keifling, Seibring, Fla.

Obviously, you they are gentlemen as you chose to take the high road rather than stomping hard on clod’s noggin!

Next time, let the rules do it for you. Players may repair “damage” to the putting green, including the hole and its surroundings, even if doing so improves the line of play. But (!) normal maintenance procedures, natural wear and tear and natural imperfections are not damages as defined by Rule 13.1c(2) and must not be repaired.

If his footing changes the ground and improves a stroke, such as a line of play, then Rule 8.1a applies, and he incurs the usual penalty of two strokes in stroke play and loss of the hole in match play. So who is not doing his job well?

For green related guidance from our guru, read on…

I have been called to direct my ball into the putt after placing my ball and lifting my ball marker – that I cannot correct the ball unless the marker is still there, and if I am caught doing so again I am not penalized. However in the specification of R&A rule 14.2c/1, the ball can be aligned in any way as long as its vertical distance to the ground remains the same, I do not see any indication that a ball marker is required when lining up a putt. . Can you clarify? —Mark O’Neill, via email

We can, and we will, soon. It’s sad that you were called correctly. Spinning the ball is considered “lifting” under Rule 14.1, and you only get the right to lift the ball on the putting green after marking it first.

So, if you roll the ball when it’s not marked you get one penalty stroke – as it hasn’t changed position you don’t have to worry about changing it. Please see Rule 14.1a.

The description you listed tells how the ball is replaced – you can replace the ball in any position; The alignment of the ball is not your problem here – but it doesn’t address whether the ball was marked when it was initially lifted, as that is a different matter.