This scenario has been discussed a couple times on here, but I have not seen this result mentioned. Maybe because it's not right, I just wanted to see if anyone knew one way or the other.

SITUATION: A ball plugs in the bank of a severely sloped green. You lift it and repair the mark, but there is no way it will come to rest in the same spot. So under the rules, you must find the nearest spot, no closer to the hole, where the ball can be placed at rest. Usually at the top of the bank.

Here's what happened to me: I lifted the ball and repaired the pitch mark. When I went to replace my ball (fully expecting it to roll away), it actually stayed because the spot was a little rough from the pitch mark repair.

Here's my question: Am I allowed to play it from here, or do I have to repair the pitch mark better so that the ball will not stay?


Thanks for any insight...

Jerry

By the rules you are allowed to fix damage to the green, but it gets tricky if you are "creating or eliminating irregularities of surface" in your line.

If you use a normal procedure to fix a ball mark, and the ball stays there, I cannot see someone credibly claiming that you created an irregular surface. If you used the pitchmark to create a cradle to hold the ball AND make it more playable, then yea, I'd say that's illegal.