When Can You Mark, Lift and Clean a Golf Ball? Rules Guide
You can always mark, lift and clean your golf ball when it is on the putting green, between holes, or when you are properly taking relief under a Rule that allows the ball to be lifted.
Everywhere else, cleaning is only allowed if the Rule under which you lifted the ball permits it.
Rule 14 of the Rules of Golf sets the procedure for marking, lifting, cleaning and replacing a ball. The sequence is: mark first, lift second, replace on the correct spot.
The Basic Rule: Mark Before You Lift
If your ball must be lifted and then replaced, mark its spot before picking it up. Under Rule 14.1a, a small ball-marker placed immediately behind or beside the ball is the normal method. A club can also be held on the ground immediately behind or beside the ball while it is lifted.
A proper golf ball marker is small, obvious and unlikely to shift while someone is walking around the green. The exact design is less important than placing it in the right position. A marker sitting several inches away is not marking the ball’s spot.
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If you lift a ball that must be replaced without first marking it, you get one penalty stroke. You also cannot make a stroke with the marker still in place, so do a quick glance before settling over the ball.
Who Is Allowed To Lift Your Ball?
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You may lift your own ball. You may also authorize another person to lift it, but that authorization needs to be given before the ball is lifted.
Your caddie has one important automatic exception: they may mark and lift your ball on the putting green without separate authorization. Away from the putting green, your caddie needs your authorization before lifting a ball that is at rest.
This catches players out in casual golf. A playing partner may be trying to help, but a ball should not be lifted by somebody else unless you have authorized that action or a Rule specifically allows it.
When You May Always Clean a Golf Ball
The cleanest answer to the question, "When can you mark, lift and clean a golf ball?" begins with three reliable situations.
- On the putting green: You may mark, lift and clean your ball at any time. This applies only when the ball is actually on the putting green, not on the fringe, collar or fairway cut around it.
- Between holes: Once a hole is complete and before play begins on the next hole, you may clean the ball you plan to use.
- When taking relief: If you are proceeding under a Rule that permits relief, including penalty relief or free relief, you may clean the ball before putting it back into play. The ball may need to be dropped or placed, depending on the Rule.
On the putting green, marking and cleaning also makes good pace-of-play sense when your ball may be in another player's line. Just remember that a ball on the fringe does not get the same automatic cleaning permission.
When Cleaning Is Limited or Not Allowed
A ball may be in your hand for reasons other than normal relief. In several of those situations, Rule 14.1c restricts cleaning because the condition of the ball or lie could influence what you do next.
Lifting a Ball To Identify It
Rule 7.3 allows you to lift a ball to identify it when it may be yours, provided you first mark its spot. You may clean it only as much as necessary to see the identifying mark, number or other feature.
If mud is covering your personal mark, wipe away enough to confirm the ball. Do not use identification as a convenient full-ball wash before replacing it.
Checking Whether a Ball Is Cut or Cracked
Under Rule 4.2c, you may lift a ball to see whether it is cut or cracked and therefore eligible to be replaced during the hole. Mark the spot first if the ball must be replaced. If it is not cut or cracked, it goes back on its original spot and must not be cleaned.
A ball that is merely scratched, scuffed or discoloured is not automatically eligible for replacement under this procedure. The test is whether it is cut or cracked.
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A Ball That Interferes With Another Player
If another player asks for your ball to be lifted because it interferes with their play, such as sitting close to their intended line or stroke area, you may lift it after marking the spot. You cannot clean it before replacing it.
The same restriction applies when a ball is lifted to see whether a condition gives relief. The purpose of lifting is inspection, not improving the ball's condition.
Embedded Balls, Relief and Cleaning
A ball embedded in its own pitch-mark in the general area may qualify for free relief under Rule 16.3. If relief applies, you lift the ball and drop a ball in the required relief area, within one club-length of the reference point and no closer to the hole.
Because you are taking relief, the ball may be cleaned. The important detail is the location: the embedded-ball Rule applies in the general area, subject to any restriction in a Local Rule. It does not provide automatic relief for a ball embedded in a bunker or penalty area.
Do not confuse an embedded ball with a ball simply resting in a deep divot, sitting down in rough or plugged against loose soil. The ball must have broken the surface of the ground and be in its own pitch-mark.
What Happens If Your Ball Is on the Wrong Green?
If your ball comes to rest on a wrong green, Rule 13.1f requires you to take free relief. You also get mandatory relief when a wrong green interferes with your area of intended stance or swing, even if the ball itself is not on that green.
Find the nearest point of complete relief in the same area of the course, then drop a ball within one club-length of that point, no closer to the hole. You may clean the ball because it is being lifted while taking relief.
This situation commonly arises on courses where adjacent holes sit close together. Do not casually putt from the wrong putting surface, even if it seems like the easiest route back to your own hole.
Replacing the Ball on the Right Spot
When a lifted ball must be replaced, Rule 14 requires the same ball to be set down on its original spot unless another Rule allows substitution. Replacing it "about here" is not enough.
If the original lie was altered while the ball was lifted, Rule 14.2d provides procedures for restoring the lie as closely as possible. That can matter in long grass, sand and a divot. On the putting green, place the ball on the spot where it originally lay.
A ball that is replaced incorrectly and then played has been played from a wrong place. In stroke play, that normally brings the general penalty of two strokes. In match play, the general penalty is loss of hole.
Preferred Lies Are a Local Rule, Not a Default Right
"Lift, clean and place," often called preferred lies or winter rules, is different from the standard Rule 14 procedures. A Committee may put a Local Rule in place when course conditions warrant it, often where mud or soft ground makes fairways unfairly difficult.
The Local Rule defines where relief is available and how far you may place the ball. It may apply only in closely mown areas of the general area, for example, and it may specify a short placing distance. Follow the scorecard, noticeboard or competition instructions, because there is no automatic fairway-cleaning rule.
Without that Local Rule, a muddy ball in the fairway must usually be played as it lies unless another Rule gives you relief.
FAQ: Marking, Lifting and Cleaning a Golf Ball
Can You Clean Your Golf Ball in the Fairway?
Not simply because it is dirty. You may clean it in the fairway only when a Rule permits you to lift it and does not restrict cleaning, such as when taking relief, or when a valid preferred-lies Local Rule is in effect.
Can You Clean a Ball on the Fringe?
No, not automatically. The fringe is not part of the putting green, so you need a separate Rule-based reason to lift and clean the ball.
Do You Have To Mark Your Ball Before Lifting It on the Green?
Yes. Mark the ball's spot before lifting it if you will replace it. Lifting without marking brings a one-stroke penalty under Rule 14.1a.
What Is the Penalty for Cleaning a Ball When You Cannot?
Cleaning a lifted ball when cleaning is not allowed brings the one-stroke penalty under Rule 14.1c. Put the ball back correctly before playing whenever possible, because playing from a wrong place is a separate breach that brings the general penalty.
Before touching the ball, ask two questions: "Why am I lifting it?" and "Will it be replaced or put back into play under relief?" Then mark when a replacement is required, lift it, clean it only if the applicable Rule allows it, and finish the procedure before making a stroke.
That routine handles nearly every ordinary situation.
If you're also using distance-measuring equipment during your rounds, MG Golf's Golf Rangefinder Guide covers how rangefinders work, slope features and what to know before using one on the course.
And if you're using yardages to decide which club to hit, the Golf Club Distance Chart provides average carry distances for different clubs.
