{"id":15554264,"date":"2024-12-04T12:04:29","date_gmt":"2024-12-04T17:04:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/golf.com\/?post_type=article&p=15554264"},"modified":"2024-12-04T12:04:36","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T17:04:36","slug":"how-much-ball-in-cup-considered-holed-rules","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/golf.com\/instruction\/rules\/how-much-ball-in-cup-considered-holed-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Rules Guy: How much of the ball needs to be in the cup to be considered holed?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Rules of Golf are tricky! Thankfully, we\u2019ve got the guru. Our Rules Guy knows the book front to back<\/a>. Got a question? He\u2019s got all the answers.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Par-3, very wet day, my ball flew into the hole \u2014 but upon reaching the green, I saw it was, in fact, entirely buried on the back edge of the cup. The ball must have flown into the hole above the cup liner, which was set two inches below the hole\u2019s rim. I claimed an ace, certain that the ball had entered the hole and was below the putting surface. My friend disagreed, saying it wasn\u2019t resting in the bottom of the cup. Who\u2019s right? \u2014Brad Middleton, Issaquah, Wash.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s clarify one thing: Starting in January 2023, what was called \u201cInterpretations\u201d are now, yes, \u201cClarifications.\u201d So please see \u201cClarifications: Holed\/1.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your buddy\u2019s argument, unlike the ground, doesn\u2019t hold water: There are several instances covered by the Rules where the ball isn\u2019t completely at the bottom of the cup or totally at rest and is still considered holed. You can claim an ace if (and only if) all the ball is below the surface and embedded in the side of the hole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now go buy him a drink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more hole-in-one-or-not guidance from our guru, read on …<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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\n \n Rules <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \"\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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Is it a hole-in-one if a ball hits a modified hole and bounces out? Rules Guy<\/a><\/blockquote>\n By:<\/span>\n \n \n Rules Guy <\/a>\n \n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

A member at our<\/strong> club made an ace, then called a penalty on himself, claiming he teed the ball ahead of the marker. All this to avoid paying for drinks after the round, when tabs have reached $2,000. Was this legal? \u2014John Karam, St. Petersburg, Fla.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thrill of victory and the agony of\u2026 the bar tab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s say this occurred in match play. Under Rule 6.1b, which covers playing from inside the teeing area, the opponent gets to choose whether to cancel Mr. Cheap Ace\u2019s stroke, so if that opponent prefers a free drink and losing the hole, so be it \u2014 don\u2019t cancel the stroke and the hole-in-one stands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In stroke play, once the player has called the penalty on himself, he gets two penalty strokes \u2014 but remember, the stroke into the hole now doesn\u2019t count and the player has to correct the mistake by playing from within the teeing area (as opposed to \u201cThat\u2019s a 1 with a 2-stroke penalty for a 3\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If he doesn\u2019t correct the mistake, he\u2019s disqualified. Some might argue that a player calling a penalty to gain an advantage is antithetical to golf\u2019s spirit, and the Committee could go the DQ route via serious misconduct under Rule 1.2a.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the game of golf assumes honorable golfers and takes them at their word, unless there\u2019s hard evidence to the contrary. Suspicions aren\u2019t facts, and the \u201cadvantage\u201d here is purely financial, not competitive \u2014 quite the contrary, since he has cost himself strokes. Maybe it seems a bit naive, but Rules Guy, for one, prefers it that way, even if it means paying for his own single-malt Scotch at the 19th hole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Need help unriddling the greens at your home course? Pick up a custom Green Book<\/a> from Golf Logix.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Got a question about the Rules? Ask the Rules Guy! Send your queries, confusions and comments to rulesguy@golf.com. We promise he won\u2019t throw the book at you.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If your ball is in the hole, but not resting at the bottom of the cup, is it still considered holed? Rules Guy has the answer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":15554265,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2024-12-04T17:04:32Z","apple_news_api_id":"08691869-94d3-4519-8362-71e39ea34f20","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2024-12-04T17:04:40Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ACGkYaZTTRRmDYnHjnqNPIA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[52],"tags":[61891],"class_list":["post-15554264","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rules","tag-rulesguy"],"acf":{"art_author":[{"ID":14046396,"post_author":"235","post_date":"2018-02-10 16:33:43","post_date_gmt":"2018-02-10 16:33:43","post_content":"","post_title":"Rules Guy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"rules-guy-2","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2018-02-10 16:33:43","post_modified_gmt":"2018-02-10 16:33:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.golf.com\/?post_type=golf_person&p=14046396","menu_order":0,"post_type":"contributor","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"art_source":"None","tee_time_button_status":false,"article_template":"standard","featured_image_caption":"What do the rules say about when exactly a ball is considered holed?","featured_image_credits":"Getty Images","wsum-gated-content":false,"wsotp_enable_one_time_payment":false,"allow_instaread_integration":false,"ad_meta":false},"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow much of ball needs to be in cup to be considered holed?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If your ball is in the hole, but not resting at the bottom of the cup, is it still considered holed? 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