Flag can be tended when ball is not on the green

Q. Last week I learned a rule that doesn't sound right to me. My ball was on the fringe and I asked to have the flag tended for me. One of the other players told me I wasn't allowed to have the flag tended until my ball was on the green. Was he right? -- Johnny, Outside Services, Black Mountain

A. That doesn't sound right. This is the way Rule 17-1 reads: Before making a stroke from anywhere on the course, the player may have the flagstick attended, removed or held up to indicate the position of the hole.

Q. We were watching the college tournament at Southern Highlands last week and have a question about a ruling we saw you make. You denied a player relief from an irrigation bubbler that he was standing on. I thought you always got free relief from an obstruction. Was the player denied relief because the bubbler was in the bushes quite a ways off the fairway or because it interfered with his stance and not lie of the ball? The player ended up taking an unplayable lie which cost him a stroke. -- Sam and Judy Louder

A. Actually he was denied relief because of where his ball was, not because of where the bubbler was. His ball was in the middle of the bushes and he was standing on the obstruction (bubbler). When I asked him what he would do if he wasn't standing on the obstruction, he said I would have to take an unplayable lie. Since he clearly never had a shot to begin with, he is not entitled to relief from the obstruction.

You will find this in Rule 24-1 Exception: A player may not take relief under Rule 24-1 (a) if it is clearly unreasonable for him to make a stroke because of interference by anything other than an immovable obstruction or (b) interference by an immovable obstruction would occur only through use of an unnecessarily abnormal stance, swing or direction of play.

Q. At the South Dakota College Invitational this week, my son flew his second shot into the hole, damaging it. The other players in the group didn't think they could repair the hole and waited for an official to help them. I saw you repair the hole but was curious as to whether they could have repaired the hole themselves? -- Irene Mentz

A. It was a great eagle your son made and lucky for us the hole wasn't damaged enough that I couldn't fix it. This is the ruling if this happens again.

If the proper dimensions of the hole have been changed materially, the player should request the committee to have the hole repaired. If a committee member is not readily available, the player may repair the damage, without penalty. If a player repairs a materially damaged hole when a committee member is readily available, he incurs a penalty for breach of Rule 16-1a.

Since I happened to be sitting on that hole, I was readily available.

Sue May is a U.S. Open rules official . Address your rules questions to suemay@cox.net.