‘Own The Spot’ On The Putting Green By Mitch Moon As Bradley approached the green, he set a ballmarker behind his ball, but never picked the ball up off the ground. He probably did so to make it easier to read the putt from a long distance. As he was studying the putt, a gust of wind caused his ball to move to a new spot further away from the original spot. Thinking he needed to replace the ball, to the previous spot, Bradley replaced the ball back to the original mark and played out from there. That, however, was wrong. A new rule, beginning in 2019, makes reference to an ‘Own the Spot’ concept on the putting green, per Rule 13.1 d(2). Once a ball is lifted and It’s important to know how to properly mark your golf ball on the green, especially after Keegan Bradley’s costly error at THE PLAYERS Championship last month. During the second round, Keegan Bradley was assessed a two-stroke penalty for playing from the wrong place on the putting green. There is a common misconception that the ball is no longer in play, once you have placed a ball-marker down beside the ball. The ball only comes out of play once it has been lifted and it returns to play, once replaced on its original spot. Indiana Golf Journal
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