Good Shot...Gone Bad

Knowing the rules of the flagstick can save your score

?It’s just my luck that one of the best shots of my life gets screwed up by controversy.
?I was in a greenside bunker on a par-4 and needed to go up and down for par. My shot was perfect. It came out of the bunker, bounced twice and then rolled right towards the hole. But instead of going in, the ball came to rest up against the flagstick.
?I was ecstatic! I assumed that I birdied the hole. I walked up, lifted the pin out of the hole and watched my ball kick out and roll off the green.
“As I started to scribble a ‘3’ on my scorecard my buddy yelled, ‘Not so fast, my friend.’
?He said that since the entire ball never went below the lip, it was never holed. He said that I had to put my ball back on the lip and putt in for a par.
“I refused to do it. I thought that sounded crazy. I never heard of such a thing. Now our match is under protest. Please help us with a ruling.”
- J.B., Wenham, Mass.

North Shore Golf called on Mt. Hood Golf Course professional Mike Farrell to decide this controversy:

Sorry J.B., but your playing partner was right on. This question falls under Rule 17-4.

If the ball rests against the flagstick, the player, or another person authorized by him or her, may move or remove the flagstick and see if the ball falls into the hole. If it does, the player has holed out. Otherwise, the ball, if moved, must be placed on the lip of the hole without penalty, and then be holed out.

Your ball was resting against the flagstick and was not below the level of the lip. Therefore, it was not holed. When you lifted it, you should have placed it on the lip and putted out. Since you never holed out, you lost the hole in match play and you are disqualified in stroke play.

Keep in mind that without a player’s authority, if an opponent or fellow competitor removes the flagstick and the ball moves away from the hole, it would be replaced against the flagstick. The player would then proceed under Rule 17-4 and the opponent would receive a one-stroke penalty in match play. A fellow competitor would not be penalized.