What can you do on the putting green in golf?
B · Beginner · Bunkers and putting greens · 12 of 13On the putting green a player may mark, lift and clean the ball, repair almost any damage and brush away sand and loose soil. There is no penalty for moving the ball or the ball-marker by accident. Testing the surface by rubbing it or rolling a ball is not allowed.
How it works
- A ball is on the green when any part of it touches the green.
- Mark, lift, clean: always allowed. The spot must be marked first and the same ball replaced on it.
- Damage that may be repaired: ball marks, spike marks and other shoe damage, scrapes from equipment or the flagstick, old hole plugs, animal tracks and embedded objects such as stones.
- What may not be repaired: aeration holes, natural blemishes such as bare or uneven patches, the effects of rain or watering and natural wear of the hole.
- Repairs are made with a hand, a foot, a pitch-mark tool, a tee or a club, without delaying play.
- Ball or marker moved by accident, by anyone: no penalty. It is put back.
- Ball moved by wind or gravity: if it had already been lifted and replaced, it goes back to that spot. If not, it is played from where it stopped.
- Testing the green by rubbing it or rolling a ball during a round: general penalty. Between holes it is allowed on the green that has been finished.
- A putt that hits another ball at rest on the green, in stroke play, costs two strokes.
Tricky cases
Can spike marks be repaired?
Yes. Shoe damage is named in the Rule as damage a player may repair.
The wind blew the ball a metre after the player had marked, lifted and replaced it. Where is it played from?
From the original spot. A ball that has been lifted and replaced on the green is put back, whatever moved it.
Can a player tap down the edges of aeration holes?
No. Aeration holes come from normal maintenance and are not damage.
Why the rule exists
The Rules note that greens are "specially prepared for playing the ball along the ground". A smooth roll is the point of the surface, so the player is allowed to restore it and to keep the ball clean.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Rules of Golf | As above | G 13.1 |
| A Committee using Model Local Rule I-2 | No practice putting on the green of the hole finished | G 13.1e (note) |
From the rule book
The R&A and USGA Rules of Golf, Rules 11.1a and 13.1. Effective January 2023. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: Rules of Golf (PDF).