COMMUNITY

I have no clue what the call should be on that one. If the flag was still in the bottom of the cup, he was not tending the cup the right way. He should have pulled the flag up and out of its slot so that it were above the bottom of the cup. For two guys that are sticklers for the rules should have known that rule. The flag can not be touching the ground in any way if someone is attempting to putt from on the green. This is the reason you see caddies holding the flag off to the side of the green. Most people don't enforce this rule too much but it is a rule.

Rule 17/8. The cup liner is an outside agency so you should have replaced your ball and cancelled out your last shot. They have changed some of the riles with the flag since 2008 so I may have been wrong about the flag resting on the green.

Your situation is covered by Decision 17/8.

17/8 Ball Strikes Hole-Liner Pulled Out with Flagstick

Q. A player played a stroke from the putting green. The ball struck the hole-liner, which had stuck to the bottom of the flagstick and had come out of the hole when the person attending the flagstick removed the flagstick. Is there any penalty?

A. No. A hole-liner is an outside agency. Accordingly, if the hole-liner was moving when the ball struck it, the stroke is canceled and the ball must be replaced â€" Rule 19-1b. If the hole-liner was not moving, the ball must be played as it lies â€" Rule 19-1. In case of doubt, the ball must be played as it lies.

There is a slightly different scenario some of the readers might be interested in. What if the cup line had been completely pulled out and the ball rolled into the hole left behind? That's covered by Decision 17/7.

17/7 Hole-Liner Pulled Out by Flagstick Attendant and Ball Falls into Unlined Hole

Q. A flagstick attendant removes the flagstick and, in the process, pulls out the hole-liner. The player's ball rolls into the unlined hole. What is the ruling?

A. The player incurs no penalty and the ball is holed. A hole need not contain a lining â€" see Definition of "Hole."

I believe you are mistaken about this.

Mark is right. I'm glad this came up. I had not realized the rule changed in 2008. Prior to that a penalty was incurred if the flagsticg lying on the ground was moved so the ball wouldn't hit it.

Dec 17-1/7 Removed Flagstick Placed on Ground Subsequently Lifted

Q. A, the opponent or fellow-competitor of B, removes the flagstick from the hole and places it on the ground. B putts and A, who is standing within reach of the removed flagstick, realizes that B's ball might strike the removed flagstick, so he picks the flagstick up. What is the ruling?

A. There is no penalty â€" see Rule 24-1.

•If a competitor sees that a ball is going to hit a flagstick that has been removed, typically when it is lying on the putting green beside the hole, they may move it to avoid the ball striking it, without incurring a penalty (Decision 17-1/7). Before 1st January 2008 such an action incurred a penalty of one stroke.

From 24-1:

When a ball is in motion, an obstruction that might influence the movement of the ball, other than equipment of any player or the flagstick when attended, removed or held up, must not be moved.

Yeah. I was wrong. The book that I have here at home is pre 2008. I went back and checked online and that rule has been changed