beggsy
Journeyman Pro
We all know how you can repair a Pitchmark an not a spikemark but what if there is a spike mark on a perfectly repaired Pitchmark on your line of putt we were talking about it during our round today but not sure of outcome
Pitchmark/spikemark ruling
- Thread starter beggsy
- Start date
rulefan
Tour Winner
If there is no justification for repairing a pitchmark then the spike mark cannot be repaired.
duncan mackie
Money List Winner
or to put it another way, a perfectly repaired pitchmark is no longer a pitchmark!
beggsy
Journeyman Pro
Maybe I think it's perfect maybe who's line it's on May think otherwise
duncan mackie
Money List Winner
whether there's damage to the putting green caused by a ball mark or not is a matter fact - so if there's a dispute it should be referred to the committee for resolution.
If it's a perfectly repaired pitch mark, but somebody has subsequently left a spike mark on it, then it's a spike mark and cannot be repaired. It would be nice to be able to tap down spike marks on your line, but I guess that some unscrupulous players would tap down a nice groove for themselves all the way to the hole if this was allowed!
MashieNiblick
Tour Winner
There is a Decision covering this.
The key here is that the hole plug is "raised". The inference is that otherwise it would be a breach.
Can see it might give rise to some degree of interpretation or disagreement though and on Tour a player might want a ref to be called.
16-1a/16.5 Spike Mark on Line of Putt Pressed Down When Player Repairs Old Hole Plug
Q. An old hole plug is raised on the player's line of putt. The player steps on the hole plug to make it level with the surface of the putting green. In so doing he presses down a spike mark within the hole plug. Was the player in breach of Rule 16-1a when he pressed down the spike mark?
A. No. Rule 16-1a permits touching the line of putt “in repairing old hole plugs.â€
If the spike mark had been near but not within the old hole plug, the ruling would be different. In these circumstances, the player would have been able to step on the hole plug without affecting the spike mark.
Q. An old hole plug is raised on the player's line of putt. The player steps on the hole plug to make it level with the surface of the putting green. In so doing he presses down a spike mark within the hole plug. Was the player in breach of Rule 16-1a when he pressed down the spike mark?
A. No. Rule 16-1a permits touching the line of putt “in repairing old hole plugs.â€
If the spike mark had been near but not within the old hole plug, the ruling would be different. In these circumstances, the player would have been able to step on the hole plug without affecting the spike mark.
The key here is that the hole plug is "raised". The inference is that otherwise it would be a breach.
Can see it might give rise to some degree of interpretation or disagreement though and on Tour a player might want a ref to be called.
So what happens if the spike mark is on an imperfectly repaired pitch mark? Presumably you can still repair the pitch mark and this normally involves tapping it flat to complete the repair.
rulefan
Tour Winner
As above
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