Ask the Ref: Do you have to use a putter on the green?

Is there are golf rule to say you can only use a putter on the green? Women & Golf’s rules expert Sheila Waltham explains all.

Are golfers allowed to use a club other than a putter when playing a shot on the green, or are they restricted to only using a putter in this situation?

There are no restrictions as to where any particular club is used on the course.

Putting greens are specifically prepared for putting! However, it is not unusual for someone who has lost their putter to putt with another club eg a driver or 7 iron. It is less usual for a player to play a pitch or chipping stroke from the putting green, but it is permissible. Unless you are one of the golfing elite and can play such shots without taking divots, such strokes are frowned upon and the greenkeeping staff and other golfers would not be happy with you for making holes in their carefully tended greens!

Sheila Waltham

Golf Rules Referee

Sheila Waltham has been a qualified rules official for over 15 years and joined the England Golf Tournament Panel of Referees in 2019. A keen golfer since 1995, Sheila’s interest in the Rules was born out of the realisation that a lot of the information she received as a novice golfer was incorrect. So, she took matters into her own hands!