Cleaning your ball using the green

Wombatman

Has anybody ever seen a player pulled up for "testing the surface of the putting green" while doing this?

Daithio12

Wombatman wrote: »

Has anybody ever seen a player pulled up for "testing the surface of the putting green" while doing this?

No and it's not against the rules to clean your ball on the green as long as you're not doing it just to test the surface, tbh it'd be very hard to prove, so I wouldn't worry about it if I saw it happening.

Wichita Lineman

This is from the R&A website rules explorer -

Q. May a player clean his ball by rubbing it on the putting green?

A. Yes, provided the act is not for the purpose of testing the surface of the putting green. It is recommended that a ball be cleaned in other ways to eliminate any question as to the player's intentions.


Personally I would never use the green itself and always walk to the fringe before wiping the ball on the grass.

DeanAustin

Andy Dunne11 wrote: »

This is from the R&A website rules explorer -

Q. May a player clean his ball by rubbing it on the putting green?

A. Yes, provided the act is not for the purpose of testing the surface of the putting green. It is recommended that a ball be cleaned in other ways to eliminate any question as to the player's intentions.


Personally I would never use the green itself and always walk to the fringe before wiping the ball on the grass.

Likewise. Would have thought it would be better to remove any doubt and just have the rule say that you can't do it.

saintastic

What could you learn from rubbing the ball on the green? The level of dew on the green maybe??

blue note

It never dawned on me that there could be anything wrong with doing it. And now that I know, I'll probably continue to do the same because I couldn't be bothered walking to the side of the green to do it (and slow play and all that jazz).

slave1

blue note wrote: »

It never dawned on me that there could be anything wrong with doing it. And now that I know, I'll probably continue to do the same because I couldn't be bothered walking to the side of the green to do it (and slow play and all that jazz).

Agreed on speeding the game up, I usually carry a face cloth for cleaning the ball on the green but sometimes leave in the bag and if its a big green and I'm putting first and my bag is a bit away I'll give a quick rub on the fringe to avoid slowing things up.

ShriekingSheet

I always do it.

And if anyone ever suggested I was testing the surface, I'd tell them to go f*ck themseves.

WHIP IT!

It wouldn't even occur to me to wipe my golfball on the green. As in, wipe a lump of mud off? On the putting surface where other people have to putt?? I'd probably wipe it on my trouser leg before I'd do that. Or walk to the greenside or to my bag and use a towel.... nobody else think that's a bit gypo, wiping mud on the green??

ShriekingSheet

WHIP IT! wrote: »

It wouldn't even occur to me to wipe my golfball on the green. As in, wipe a lump of mud off? On the putting surface where other people have to putt?? I'd probably wipe it on my trouser leg before I'd do that. Or walk to the greenside or to my bag and use a towel.... nobody else think that's a bit gypo, wiping mud on the green??

Ah here.

I don't mean leaving a lump of wet clay on the green.

Wiping the bit of dirt that comes up on the ball on the green does not leave any trace on the surface.

Wichita Lineman

I dont think I've ever seen anyone actually wipe their ball on the grass on the putting surface anyway and I would hardly think ball cleaning in any event is a major contributor to slow play.

mag

always do it, never thought about it & no, it doesnt leave anything on the green that wouldnt be there already in spades

Dormy

WHIP IT! wrote: »

It wouldn't even occur to me to wipe my golfball on the green. As in, wipe a lump of mud off? On the putting surface where other people have to putt?? I'd probably wipe it on my trouser leg before I'd do that. Or walk to the greenside or to my bag and use a towel.... nobody else think that's a bit gypo, wiping mud on the green??

Do you wipe your shoes before walking onto every green?
Surely wiping a few specs of mud onto the grass of a green is normal behaviour and not as you put it "a bit gypo". I do it and see others doing it regularly and never heard of anyone complaining about it

Daithio12

ShriekingSheet wrote: »

I always do it.

And if anyone ever suggested I was testing the surface, I'd tell them to go f*ck themseves.

Yea kick them in the balls and break their legs aswell, just to be sure like.

FixdePitchmark

What is this all about.

I just throw it to my caddy.

He dropped it once, sacked him.

ShriekingSheet

Daithio12 wrote: »

Yea kick them in the balls and break their legs aswell, just to be sure like.

That'd be ridiculous.

Daithio12

ShriekingSheet wrote: »

That'd be ridiculous.

Ah if you're going to do it, you might as well do it right.

Ilik Urgee

Anyone with shit on their balls shouldn't be playing golf in the first place.

Myksyk

It's just another one of those mythical rules that circulates word of mouth. Come across them all the time ... there are a few more on testing the green ... I knocked a ball back to an opponent with my putter in conceding a putt. When I came off my manager nearly had a canary saying we could have lost the hole because I could have been pulled for testing the green. After jokingly berating his lack of knowledge of the actual rules I had to show him the related decision to convince him - he had believed this 'rule' existed for decades. All sorts of other fictional rules out there passed on by the rules mavens.

Peterdalkey

You can pick you nose and you can pick your friends, but you can't wipe your friends off on the saddle!! Old Cowboy Proverb!