The short answer
- You can repair spike marks now — that changed in 2019.
- Use your hand, foot, ball-mark tool, tee or similar normal equipment, without unreasonably delaying play.
- No repairing aeration holes, vertical-mowing grooves, damage from irrigation, rain or other natural forces, natural surface imperfections or natural wear of the hole.
- Any player may repair damage anywhere on the green, including damage on another player's line.
- Exceeding what's reasonable — like building a pathway to the hole — is a general penalty.
What you can repair on the green
Rule 13.1c(2) allows you to repair almost any damage on the putting green, using your hand, your foot, a normal ball-mark repair tool, a tee, a club or similar normal equipment — as long as you do not unreasonably delay play.
"Damage on the putting green" is defined broadly. It includes damage caused by any person, or by an outside influence, such as:
- Ball marks, shoe damage such as spike marks, and scrapes or indentations caused by equipment or a flagstick.
- Old hole plugs, turf plugs, seams of cut turf and indentations from maintenance tools or vehicles.
- Animal tracks or hoof indentations.
- Embedded objects — a stone, acorn, hail or tee — and the indentations they leave.
Before 2019, spike marks were off-limits and golfers fumed about it. That debate is over: if you can see the damage and fix it reasonably, you may.
What you may NOT repair
| You may repair | You may not repair |
|---|---|
| Ball marks and pitch marks | Aeration holes |
| Spike marks and shoe damage | Natural surface imperfections |
| Scrapes from clubs, flagsticks or equipment | Natural wear of the hole |
| Old hole plugs, turf seams | Anything requiring more than reasonable action |
| Animal tracks and hoof indentations | Vertical-mowing grooves |
| Embedded objects and their indentations | Damage from irrigation, rain or other natural forces |
If the damage is such that you cannot reasonably restore it — an old hole plug that has sunk below the surface, for example — ask the Committee, which may treat it as ground under repair.
The "pathway to the hole" trap
The permission is to restore the green "as nearly as possible to its original condition." Go beyond that and you get the general penalty for improving conditions affecting your stroke:
- Don't create a pathway to the hole. Repairing damage is fine; smoothing an entire route toward the cup is not.
- Don't use prohibited objects or take actions that go beyond reasonable repair.
- Don't unreasonably delay play — you still have to keep up.
Who may do the repair?
Any player may repair damage anywhere on the putting green, including on another player's line (Rule 13.1c(2)). It's a useful point of etiquette when you notice a fresh spike mark sitting in someone else's line. Just don't rush it or delay the group.
Related green rules worth knowing
- Sand and loose soil on the green may be removed without penalty — Rule 13.1c(1).
- You may mark, lift and clean your ball on the green at any time.
- Accidentally moving your ball or ball-marker on the green is free — it must simply be replaced (Rule 13.1d).
- Testing the putting green: you must not deliberately rub the green's surface or roll a ball to test it (Rule 13.1e).
- Standing astride or on your line: you must not make a stroke while deliberately standing astride or on your line of play or its extension behind the ball (Rule 10.1c).
Frequently asked questions
Can you repair spike marks on the putting green?
What damage can you not repair on the green?
Can you repair damage on another player's line of play?
Is there a penalty for improving your line on the green?
What if the damage cannot be repaired?
Green rules at a glance
Save Strokes: Golf Rules Quick Reference is a PDF covering 20 rules situations, with a printable bag card and a phone card. Pair it with the Bogey Fuel mug.