Can you lift your ball to identify it?
By The Fairway Labs TeamReviewed
General play
Penalty: None
Can you lift your ball to identify it?
PenaltyNone· under Rule 7.3
What to do
- 1Announce your intent and mark the ball’s spot before lifting it.
- 2Lift and rotate the ball to check for identifying marks.
- 3Clean only as much as needed to identify it, not more.
- 4Replace it on the exact original spot before your next stroke.
Based on the modern Rules of Golf (Rule 7.3), as published by the USGA and The R&A and effective from the 2019 revision. Local rules can modify some situations — check the scorecard or with the committee when in doubt.
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