Cup dislodges from hole, blocks ball from dropping

[3Jack]

On Sunday at Anderson links, on the 10th hole, I had a lenghty putt for birdie. My playing partner tended the flag at my request, and as the ball approached the hole he pulled the flag, but in the process the cup lifted from the hole, blocking the ball from falling in. As this was a casual round, and the ball only deflected a couple of inches from the edge of the hole (the ball was center-cut in that thing), we 'assumed' it was going to fall, so I was 'given' the birdie.

In tournament play, what's the call on this one? I'm assuming it's a penalty on me... I suppose this is exactly why we caddies, when tending the flag, pull the pin and then not fully replace it in the hole when his player putts...

Very interested to know what the ruling here is!

[jvincent]

From the decisions:

A hole-liner is an outside agency. Accordingly, if the hole-liner was moving when the ball struck it, the stroke is cancelled and the ball must be replaced – Rule 19-1b. If the hole-liner was not moving, the ball must be played as it lies – Rule 19-1. In case of doubt, the ball must be played as it lies.

[3Jack]

Thank you kind sir... I didn't have my rule book handy at time of posting... thanks again for the follow up on this!

[jvincent]

Both the Rules and the Decisions are online at the RCGA website now.

The Decisions are a searchable Flash application. Very handy.

[3Jack]

Sa-weet! Thanks for the heads-up...

[Kilroy]

It's best to pull the flag first and then rest it on the bottom of the cup when tending. That way when pulling it as the ball is rolling it doesn't get stuck.

[jvincent]

Good advice. I've had a couple of pins get stuck on me in the past when tending so I always do what Dan suggests now.