2 October 2026 · 10 min read
Golf putting rules: flagstick in the hole, marking the ball and when a ball is holed
Leaving the flagstick in is allowed, lifting without marking costs one penalty stroke, and a ball on the lip of the hole gets ten seconds to fall: Rules 13 and 14 in tables.
You may leave the flagstick in the hole when you putt, and if your ball hits it, there is no penalty. You must mark the ball before you lift it, otherwise it costs one penalty stroke. A ball is holed when it comes to rest in the hole and is entirely below the surface of the putting green. That is what Rule 13 of the Rules of Golf by the R&A and the USGA says in the 2023 edition, and Rule 14 covers marking and replacing. The twelve rules a beginner needs first are in Golf rules for beginners, and what changes in 2026 is in Golf rules 2026.
Ball on the green: mark, lift, replace
Your ball is on the putting green as soon as any part of it touches the green, or when it lies on or in something, such as a loose leaf, and is inside the edge of the green (Rule 13.1a). The edge is where you can see the specially prepared area start, unless the Committee defines it another way, for example with a line (definition of putting green). Here you may lift, clean and replace the ball (Rule 13.1b).
This is how you mark: you place a ball-marker right behind or next to the ball, or you hold a club on the ground right behind or next to it (Rule 14.1a). A tee, a coin or another small piece of equipment counts as a ball-marker. After replacing the ball you remove the marker before you play. You may lift the ball yourself, or someone you authorise each time before it is lifted. Your caddie may lift on the putting green without authorisation (Rule 14.1b).
You must replace the ball by hand: you set it down on the original spot and let go so that it stays there (Rule 14.2b). If it does not stay, you try a second time. If it still does not stay, you place it on the nearest spot where it will stay, not nearer the hole (Rule 14.2e).
The flagstick: leave it in, take it out or have it held
The rulebook calls the flag the flagstick: a movable pole in the hole that shows where the hole is (definition of flagstick). Rule 13.2 gives you the choice, but you must decide before the stroke, and it applies to a stroke from anywhere on the course, not only from the green. You have three options:
- Leave the flagstick in. The ball may hit it, there is no penalty, and you play the ball as it lies (Rule 13.2a). You may leave it where it stands or move it to the centre of the hole. If you deliberately move it to another position to gain an advantage and the ball hits it, you get the general penalty.
- Take the flagstick out. You have it removed before the stroke, so that the ball cannot hit it (Rule 13.2b).
- Have the flagstick held. Someone holds it in, above or next to the hole to show you where the hole is, and removes it during or after the stroke. You are also treated as having authorised this if your caddie holds the flagstick or stands right next to the hole, or if you see someone there and play without asking them to move away (Rule 13.2b).
If your ball accidentally hits the removed or held flagstick or the person holding it, there is no penalty and you play the ball as it lies. If the person deliberately deflects or stops the ball, Rule 11.2c applies, and you do not play the ball as it lies. After a stroke with the flagstick left in, you and your caddie must not deliberately move or remove it to affect where the ball comes to rest. That costs the general penalty, two penalty strokes in stroke play and loss of the hole in match play (definition of general penalty). There is no penalty if you have the flagstick moved for another reason, for instance because you reasonably believe the ball will no longer hit it.
Repair yes, test no
During the round you may remove sand and loose soil on the green and repair damage, even when your ball is not on the green (Rule 13.1c). You can do it with your hand, foot, a normal repair tool, a tee or a club, without unreasonably delaying play. If you do more than is needed, for example by creating a pathway to the hole, you get the general penalty. What counts as damage, the rule lists:
| You may repair | That is not damage, it stays |
|---|---|
| ball marks and shoe damage | aeration holes and grooves from vertical mowing |
| scrapes and indentations from equipment or a flagstick | marks from irrigation and rain |
| old hole plugs and seams of cut turf | weeds, bare or diseased areas |
| animal tracks and hoof indentations | the natural wear of the hole |
| embedded objects such as a stone, acorn or tee | other natural forces |
Testing the green is forbidden: you must not rub the surface or roll a ball. Between two holes you may do both on the green of the hole just completed and on any practice green (Rule 13.1e). The course can ban rolling a ball on the green of the hole just completed with a Local Rule.
When your ball or the marker moves
If you, your opponent or, in stroke play, another player accidentally moves your ball or marker on the green, there is no penalty (Rule 13.1d). You replace the ball on its original spot, and if that is not known you estimate it. If natural forces such as the wind move the ball, it depends on whether you had already lifted and replaced it:
- You had lifted and replaced it: you put it back where it was before it moved.
- You had not lifted it: you play it from its new spot.
If it only starts to move during the backswing or the stroke and you make the stroke, you play it as it lies (Rule 9.1b). What applies away from the green is in Ball moves: the rule and in Lifting and cleaning the ball.
When the ball is holed
Holed means: the ball is at rest in the hole after a stroke and the entire ball is below the surface of the putting green (definition of holed). The hole is 4 ¼ inches wide, that is 108 millimetres, and at least 4 inches deep, that is 101.6 millimetres (definition of hole). Three cases make the call difficult:
| Where the ball lies | Holed? | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| in the hole, entirely below the surface | yes | The hole is finished. |
| leaning on the flagstick, part of it below the surface | yes, even if not the entire ball is below (Rule 13.2c) | The hole is finished. |
| leaning on the flagstick, none of it below the surface | no | You play it as it lies. If the ball moves when the flagstick is removed, you replace it on the lip of the hole without penalty. |
| overhanging the lip of the hole | yes, if it falls during the waiting time (Rule 13.3a) | You walk to the hole and wait ten seconds there. |
If the overhanging ball still falls into the hole after the waiting time, before you play it, it counts as holed, but you get one penalty stroke. If someone lifts or moves the ball during the waiting time, and it was not natural forces, it goes back on the lip of the hole and the waiting time no longer applies (Rule 13.3b). If your opponent in match play deliberately lifts the ball during the waiting time, it counts as holed. If another player does that in stroke play, they get the general penalty.
The penalties at a glance, and what it means for you
The general penalty is loss of the hole in match play or two penalty strokes in stroke play. On the green this can happen to you:
| Situation | Penalty | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| lifting the ball without marking, marking wrongly or playing with the marker left in place | 1 penalty stroke | 14.1a |
| testing the green (rubbing the surface, rolling a ball) | general penalty | 13.1e |
| repairing more than needed, for example creating a pathway to the hole | general penalty | 13.1c |
| deliberately moving the flagstick and the ball hits it, or moving it after the stroke to affect the ball | general penalty | 13.2a |
| overhanging ball falls after the waiting time | 1 penalty stroke, the ball counts as holed | 13.3a |
| ball hits the flagstick left in the hole | none | 13.2a |
| ball or marker accidentally moved | none, replace the ball | 13.1d |
An example: your third stroke on the hole is a putt, and the ball stops overhanging the lip. You walk to the hole and wait ten seconds. If it falls in that time, you have holed out with the third stroke. If it falls afterwards, before your next stroke, it is also holed, but you write down four: three strokes and one penalty stroke.
Four habits help you avoid these penalties. Mark before you lift. Remove the marker before you play. Decide before the stroke whether the flagstick stays in. Repair damage, but do not create a pathway to the hole. What is etiquette and not a rule on the green is in Golf etiquette and dress code.
Practise the green and find a venue
Four exercises for a mat at home are in Putting practice at home, what the software does when you putt in a bay and what it does not is in Putting in a golf simulator, and the technique from scratch in Putting: technique for beginners.
The directory lists 126 venues, 110 indoor venues and 16 ranges, in 21 cantons (as of 2 October 2026, our own entries). The map shows them by canton, and golf simulator for beginners explains what to expect at your first session.
Frequently asked questions
May I leave the flagstick in the hole when I putt?
Yes. Under Rule 13.2a you may play with the flagstick left in. If the ball hits it there is no penalty, and you play the ball as it lies. You must decide before the stroke and must not deliberately move it off centre to gain an advantage.
Do I have to mark the ball on the green before I lift it?
Yes. You place a ball-marker right behind or next to the ball or hold a club on the ground there (Rule 14.1a). If you lift without marking it costs one penalty stroke. You remove the marker before you play, otherwise it is also one penalty stroke.
When does a ball count as holed in golf?
A ball is holed when it is at rest in the hole after a stroke and the entire ball is below the surface of the putting green. If it leans on the flagstick in the hole, it is enough that part of it is below the surface (Rule 13.2c).
What happens if my ball stops on the edge of the hole?
You have a reasonable time to reach the hole and wait ten seconds there. If the ball falls in that time, you have holed out with your last stroke. If it falls afterwards, it counts as holed, but you get one penalty stroke (Rule 13.3a).
May I repair pitch marks and spike marks on the green?
Yes. Under Rule 13.1c you may repair ball marks, shoe damage and similar damage on the green, with your hand, foot or a normal repair tool. Creating a pathway to the hole is not allowed, and neither is testing the green. Both bring the general penalty.
Sources
- R&A: Regel 13, Putting Greens (Grün, Fahne, Ball am Loch) (13.1 Handlungen auf dem Grün, 13.2 Fahne, 13.3 Ball über dem Lochrand)
- R&A: Regel 14, Markieren, Aufheben, Reinigen und Zurücklegen (14.1 Markieren, 14.2 Zurücklegen)
- R&A und USGA: Rules of Golf 2023, Definitionen (Holed, Hole, Flagstick, Ball-Marker, Putting Green, General Penalty)
- Swiss Golf Simulators: eigene Einträge (Anlagen mit Simulator und Range, Stand 2. Oktober 2026)