Testing the surface of the green

[Tin Pot]

I seem to recall someone saying the you can't pat down a repaired pitch mark with your putter, to smooth it over, as it's testing the green - am I just mad?

I know you can't brush loose impediments away with your putter. Have I confused the two scenarios?

Ta.

[Longshot]

I know you can't brush loose impediments away with your putter. Have I confused the two scenarios?

Yes you can. They changed it.

[MisterS3]

I seem to recall someone saying the you can't pat down a repaired pitch mark with your putter, to smooth it over, as it's testing the green - am I just mad?

I know you can't brush loose impediments away with your putter. Have I confused the two scenarios?

Ta.

Who tells you this stuff?

[Foxholer]

There have been a few of these hypothetical 'testing the green' stories including the one about using a tee to mark the ball.

As ball markers and pitch mark repairing would/could also come into that category and in recognition that it really isn't testing the green they made the definition sufficiently vague a while back (2004?).

Likewise loose impediments on line of putt can be removed by any means - provided player does not press anything down.

Ross

[Tin Pot]

Okay guys.  I get the picture, are there any decisions or rules changes I can quote?

As for where I 'get these things from' it's probably from some weirdo forums on the interwebby thing.

[mattyarse]

As for where I 'get these things from' it's probably from the voices in my head that also tells me to leave things in odd places.

/sorry

[Tin Pot]

/sorry

Time to sort out your affairs, you now have nine days before I bury you in the bunker of the 6th. 

[Fieldsy]

Time to sort out your affairs, you now have nine days before I bury you in the bunker of the 6th. 

Thats assuming you remember to turn up Joe.......


....with all the required tools (clubs, money, balls, shoes, shovel) 

[Tin Pot]

Thats assuming you remember to turn up Joe.......


....with all the required tools (clubs, money, balls, shoes, shovel) 

Enough with the banter and euphemisms;

You're f*****g dead sunshine.

[Fieldsy]

Enough with the banter and euphemisms;

You're f*****g dead sunshine.

Its unlike you to be this tetchy this early in the week ?    ::laugh:

[mattyarse]

Thats assuming you remember to turn up Joe.......


....with all the required tools (clubs, money, balls, shoes, shovel) 

pmsl

[Foxholer]

Okay guys.  I get the picture, are there any decisions or rules changes I can quote?

As for where I 'get these things from' it's probably from some weirdo forums on the interwebby thing.

TP,

RTFM - or RTFR in this case

http://www.randa.org/flash/rules/PDF/WEB_ROG_spreads.pdf

Rule 16-1 a i.

Ross

[Tin Pot]

TP,

RTFM - or RTFR in this case

You may not have realised I tried to identify relevant rules before I posted the query.

Rule 16-1 a i.

Ross

Which is...

a.Touching Line of Putt
The line of putt must not be touched except:
(i) the player may remove loose impediments, provided he does not press anything down

I've already read this a few times, it's not very specific.  If as Longshot says it's because of a change in the rules, that would be verified with a quote of the old rules.

The interpretation here is that if you rake your putter across the green to sweep away a loose impediment, you are de facto...

d. Testing Surface
During the stipulated round, a player must not test the surface of any putting green by rolling a ball or roughening or scraping the surface.

[Foxholer]

TP,

I seem to recall someone saying the you can't pat down a repaired pitch mark with your putter, to smooth it over, as it's testing the green - am I just mad?

Yes you are mad  . .

Sorry, couldn't resist!  Whoever told you that is wrong.

I know you can't brush loose impediments away with your putter.
Ta.

Also wrong.

You can (now) brush away loose impediments (with your putter) on line of putt - provided nothing pressed down. That was the clause I pointed to.

Have I confused the two scenarios?

Very probably.

To cover both scenarios:

That is a separate 'can do' to repairing pitch marks - and that does allow use of putter and pressing down. That covers both those on line of putt and those elsewhere on the green.

The bold text of yours is a separate 'can not' clause - and actually defines what 'testing the surface' means (in this case). Sticking a ball marker (or tee-peg) into the green is not one of them, therefore is not 'testing the green'. Nor is patting down a repaired pitch mark.

Ross

[Tin Pot]

Err, yes, (I seem to have been over excited by the Bold button in the previous post) and no?

There are two issues; I thought you were talking about brushing things away from the line of putt with the putter - which I think 16-1d might preclude.

The other issue about patting down during the repair of a pitch mark, it may just be that there is no rule that using a putter to do so contravenes - rather than an explicit decision to allow it.  I'm fairly sure I've seen Monty pat down a repaired pitch mark with a putter so it must be allowed.