Mark, lift, clean, and replace.

On the putting green, you may mark and lift your ball to clean it.

Plain-language guide · Rules 13.1b and 14.1. Use the current official text and your round’s Local Rules for a ruling.

What to know

Place a marker immediately behind or beside it. Put the ball back on its original spot and remove the marker before putting.

On the course

If you shift a marker out of someone’s way, use a fixed reference so you can reverse the move accurately.