Indiana Golf Journal April 2022

replaced, the ball must be played from that spot no matter what causes the ball to move. This rule resets every time your ball ends up on putting green, even if your previous stroke was also from the putting green. Example: If you hit a 20-foot putt to within five feet short of the hole, you must both mark and lift the ball to ‘Own the Spot.’ The key term in interpreting this rule, is the word “lift.” Keegan never lifted his ball from its spot, even though he had marked it. Thus, it didn’t matter that the ball-marker was set behind the ball. His ball was moved by natural forces, the wind, thus he should have played the ball from the new location. Because he failed to play the ball from the new spot, he was assessed a general penalty of playing from the wrong place. Make note, simply rotating your golf ball, with the ball-marker in place, satisfies the “lifting” requirement and would thus ‘Own the Spot.’ Know the Rules. They are there to help you.

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