In the old days, before the 2019 Rules changes, you could have found yourself feeling very hard done by if you thought you’d holed out, even scored an ace perhaps. If you had reached your ball and found that the ball was wedged against the flagstick and not completely below the surface of the putting green, it would not have been treated as holed. That must have been a real buzz kill for a lot of premature celebrations.
But since 2019, things have changed. The answer now to the question, “Is a ball holed if it’s wedged against a flagstick?” is… wait for it… Maybe. What? Yes, the Rules of Golf can be complicated.
This scenario is covered by Rule 13.2c. For the ball to be classed as holed, some part of the ball must be below the surface of the putting green. It reads,
“If a player’s ball comes to rest against the flagstick left in the hole:
If any part of the ball is in the hole below the surface of the putting green, the ball is treated as holed even if the entire ball is not below the surface.”
So, if your ball is even partially below the surface of the putting green then it’s holed.
But, if no part of the ball is below the surface and it’s wedged totally above ground then it’s not holed. 13.2c continues to say:
“If no part of the ball is in the hole below the surface of the putting green:
The ball is not holed and must be played as it lies.
If the flagstick is removed and the ball moves (whether it falls into the hole or moves away from the hole), there is no penalty and the ball must be replaced on the lip of the hole.”
So, if no part of the ball is below the surface then, even if wedged against the flagstick, it’s not holed. You must tap it in for an extra shot. If you don’t replace it in the correct spot and play from there, you incur the General Penalty of two shots.
If no part of the ball was below the surface, the ball fell in when you moved the flagstick, and you failed to hole out as required as above before starting the next hole, you would be disqualified.
So, you must be careful. If the ball is wedged against the flagstick and it is even partially below the surface of the putting green in the hole, it is holed. If it’s wedged against the flagstick above the hole and no part is below the putting surface, it isn’t holed. Bad luck!
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