Women & Golf’s rules expert Sheila Waltham explains what happens when you unintentionally smooth down spike marks
While bending down on the green to clear some leaves on my intended line, I used my putter to steady myself. Without realising, my putter rested on the line of my putt and smoothed some spike marks. What is the ruling?
Pre the Rule changes of 2019, there would have been a penalty incurred for pressing down a spike mark. Now, under Rule 13.1c, a player may repair damage on the putting green, without penalty, by taking reasonable actions to restore the putting green as nearly as possible to its original condition. Damage to the putting green includes spike marks. It also includes scrapes or indentations caused by equipment or flagsticks, old hole plugs, animal tracks or hoof indentations and embedded objects eg acorns or stones.
Repair can be undertaken by hand, foot, or other part of the body, a normal ball mark repair tool, tee, club or similar item or normal equipment and must be done without unreasonably delaying play.
There is a list of conditions, which are not included in “damage to the putting green”: situations arising from maintenance practices (eg aeration holes), irrigation, rain or other natural forces, natural imperfections (eg weeds) and natural wear of the hole.
That was the explanation of the appliable Rule, so to answer the question, no penalty has been incurred by eliminating a spike mark, accidentally or intentionally.
About the author
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!
Become a whizz on the rules and check out our previous Ask the Ref features, like this one: What happens if my golf ball ends up in a puddle?
