Rules Of Golf: When Is Cleaning The Golf Ball Allowed?

Did you know about these rules?

Transcript

00:00Hello there, in this video we're talking about cleaning your golf ball when the rules allow you

00:05to do it and when they don't allow you to do it. I'm on the fairway here and my ball has picked up

00:09some mud and the harsh reality is that other than when preferred lies are in operation, when you

00:14could pick it up and clean it, you're just going to have to play that as it lies. Even if that

00:20piece of mud is where the club is going to make contact with the ball, as it probably is in this

00:23scenario, I'm afraid that is just how it is. As I say, if preferred lies in operation, you could

00:29pick it up and clean it and the other times when you are allowed to clean it, absolutely no problem,

00:34are when you reach the green, obviously then you can mark the ball, pick it up and do what you like

00:38with it before you make your first putt. You can clean your ball between the play of two holes at

00:44any time, that's no problem and you can also clean your golf ball when you're proceeding under a rule

00:49taking free relief or taking a penalty drop. However, it's important to know that there are some

00:53occasions when you are not allowed to clean your ball under the rules. Let's go and take a look at

00:57those four scenarios now. The first scenario where you're not allowed to clean your ball is when

01:02you've been asked to lift it because it interferes with the play of another player. In this example

01:07here, my ball has the mud on it, I've been asked to lift it because the other ball wishes to putt

01:11and therefore they want my ball out of the way. So I mark my ball and then I would probably move it,

01:17one marker to the side as well to get off their line. What I've got to be careful of now is I'm not

01:21allowed to clean that mud off the ball. So however you best can do that by holding it between two

01:27fingers like that or placing it down somewhere very carefully, you are not allowed to clean the

01:31ball when you've been asked to lift it because it interferes with the play of another player.

01:36Another time when you have to be a bit careful about cleaning your ball is when you're lifting

01:40it to identify that it's definitely your ball. In this thick rough here I can see a ball, it's got a

01:44lump of mud on the top, I think it's mine but I'm not 100% sure. So I mark the position of the ball,

01:53lift it, there's mud there where my mark would be underneath the tightest branding. What you're

01:58allowed to do is wipe that mud away, it's sufficient to be able to identify that it's yours.

02:03So I've moved it a fraction, I can see my green circle around the number, that is my ball. Now I

02:08must put that ball back without cleaning the rest of the mud off. So you're only allowed to clean it

02:13to the extent necessary to make a positive identification that it is your ball.

02:19Another time where you're not allowed to clean your golf ball is if you suspect it might have

02:23become cut or cracked. Perhaps this ball has hit a cart path on its way to this position and you

02:28think it might have suffered some damage. It very specifically has to be cut or cracked for you

02:32to be able to replace the ball during play of a hole and you would then be allowed to lift the ball

02:36to check whether it is cut or cracked but if it proves not to be you mustn't clean that mud off it,

02:42you must replace it as it is. Obviously if it is cut or cracked you'll be playing with a brand new

02:46ball from there on but it's a pretty rare scenario these days. And the final one is when you are

02:52wanting to lift your ball to see if it is in a condition from which relief is allowed. Here I've

02:57got a ball I'm not entirely sure whether it's embedded in its own pitch mark or not so I want

03:02to check so I'd mark the position of the ball, lift the ball just to see if it is embedded or whether

03:07it's just in a little hollow. Now if the ball is embedded in its own pitch mark I would be entitled

03:11to take free relief and therefore clean the ball. If it isn't I would have to replace the ball where

03:17it was and take extra care not to clean it before doing so.