Dr. Robin Farran teaches Advanced Rules at the Golf Academy and is widely regarded as one of the top USGA Rules Officials in the country. Each week he sends out an email featuring different Rules scenarios, and this week, the flagstick takes center stage:
1. Player A chips his ball from the fringe, and the ball rolls towards the flagstick, which had been removed from the hole and placed on the putting green. Player B, a fellow-competitor, walks over quickly and lifts the flagstick. Player A’s ball rolls just past where the flagstick had been.
**No penalties were incurred. See the last sentence of Rule 24-1.
2. Player C removes the flagstick from the hole and places the flagstick beyond the hole on the putting green. Player D putts, and the ball picks up speed as it passes the hole and strikes the flagstick.
**Player D incurred a penalty of loss of hole in match play or a penalty of two strokes in stroke play for a breach of Rule 17-3a. Also, see Decision 17-3/3, item (a).
3. Player E plays his approach shot with a 5-iron to an elevated putting green. When Player E arrives at the green, a spectator informs Player E that his ball was deflected by the flagstick, which had been left on the fringe by the previous group.
**No penalty was incurred by Player E. Player E must play the ball as it lies. See Decision 17-3/3, item (b) and Rule 19-1.