I was lucky enough to play in the SCGA Tournament of Club Champions at The S at Rancho Mirage. They had rules officials going around on carts, which was very helpful. One happened to be with us by the green and reminded us of a fairly subtle rule that was imminently relevant.
I was about ten feet off the green, and another player was about a foot off of the green, directly in my line. I was confident on the rule that he could mark his ball at my request, even though it was not on the green. The rules official interjected that he was not allowed to clean the ball in this scenario. This is covered by Rule #14, which lists the only situations you can lift the ball, but not clean it. These situations are as follows:
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To see if it is cut or cracked – cleaning is not allowed.
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To identify it – cleaning is allowed only as needed to identify it.
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Because it interferes with play – cleaning is not allowed.
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To see if it lies in a condition where relief is allowed – cleaning is not allowed, unless you then take relief under a Rule.
I also had to remind myself that the Local Rules that our club uses week to week are not in play for this tourney. That came up when my cart-partner couldn't find his ball. He asked if he could drop near where the lost ball was expected to be found. The lost ball rule calls for stroke and distance. Our club plays the Local Rule that allows for a two stroke penalty and dropping where the ball was lost, but that doesn't apply here. So I had to inform him that he had to take a penalty stroke, and go back to where he had played his last shot.
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