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
00:09has 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
00:19that
00:20piece of mud is where the club is going to make contact with the ball, as it probably is in
00:23this
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
00:38like
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
00:53some occasions when you are not allowed to clean your ball under the rules. Let's go and take a look
00:57at those four scenarios now. The first scenario where you're not allowed to clean your ball is
01:01when you've been asked to lift it because it interferes with the play of another player.
01:06In this example here, my ball has the mud on it, I've been asked to lift it because the other
01:10ball
01:10wishes to putt and therefore they want my ball out of the way. So I mark my ball and then
01:15I would
01:16probably move it, one marker to the side as well to get off their line. What I've got to be
01:20careful of
01:20now is I'm not allowed to clean that mud off the ball. So however you best can do that by
01:26holding it
01:26between two fingers like that or placing it down somewhere very carefully, you are not allowed
01:31to clean the ball when you've been asked to lift it because it interferes with the play of another
01:35player. Another time when you have to be a bit careful about cleaning your ball is when you're
01:39lifting it to identify that it's definitely your ball. In this thick rough here I can see a ball,
01:44it's got a lump of mud on the top, I think it's mine but I'm not 100% sure. So
01:48I mark the position of
01:50the ball, lift it, there's mud there where my mark would be underneath the tightest branding. What
01:58you're allowed 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
02:08I
02:08must put that ball back without cleaning the rest of the mud off. So you're only allowed to clean it
02:13to
02:14the extent necessary to make a positive identification that it is your ball. Another time where you're
02:20not allowed to clean your golf ball is if you suspect it might have become cut or cracked. Perhaps
02:24this ball has hit a cart path on its way to this position and you think it might have suffered
02:29some
02:29damage. It very specifically has to be cut or cracked for you to be able to replace the ball during
02:34play of a hole and you would then be allowed to lift the ball to check whether it is cut
02:38or cracked but if
02:39it proves not to be, you mustn't clean that mud off it, you must replace it as it is.
02:43Obviously if it is cut or cracked you'll be playing with a brand new ball from there on
02:47but it's a pretty rare scenario these days. And the final one is when you are wanting to lift your
02:53ball to see if it is in a condition from which relief is allowed. Here I've got a ball I'm
02:58not
02:58entirely sure whether it's embedded in its own pitch mark or not so I want to check. So I'd mark
03:03the
03:03position of the ball, lift the ball just to see if it is embedded or whether it's just in a
03:07little hollow.
03:08Now if the ball is embedded in its own pitch mark I would be entitled to take free relief
03:12and therefore clean the ball. If it isn't I would have to replace the ball where it was
03:17and take extra care not to clean it before doing so.
03:21We'll see you later.
03:26We'll see you later.
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