Rules · Tip
When You Can Clean Your Ball
Part of our rules programs. Build a program with it
Under Rule 14.1c, you can always clean a ball you lift from the green. Elsewhere, you usually can, with some exceptions. If you lift it to check for a cut or crack, don't clean it. If you lift it to identify it, clean only enough to see your mark. If you lift it because it's in someone's way, don't clean it. If you lift it to see if relief applies, clean it only if you then take relief. Cleaning when you shouldn't costs one stroke.
Step by step
- On the green, clean freely.
- Checking for damage: no cleaning.
- Identifying: clean only enough to see.
- In someone's way: no cleaning.
- Checking for relief: clean only if you take it.
Why it works
Rule 14.1c separates lifts that let you clean the ball from lifts that don't. Cleaning could change the ball's condition or hide what you were checking, so the rules limit it to cases where it gives no real advantage. On the green, the ball is about to be replaced and putted, so cleaning is always allowed.
Common mistakes
- Wiping the ball clean after lifting it to check for a cut or crack.Look at the ball as it is, and only clean it if it is a lift where cleaning is allowed.
- Cleaning the whole ball when you lift it to identify it.Wipe only enough to see your mark, and stop once you can read it.
- Cleaning the ball after lifting it to see if relief applies, then playing it from the same spot.Clean it only if you then take relief, and leave it as it is if you play it as it lies.
How you'll know it's working
- You can say before you lift the ball why you are lifting it and whether cleaning is allowed.
- You only reach for the towel after you have decided the lift is one where cleaning is permitted.
- On the green, you clean the ball every time without hesitation, and elsewhere you stop and think first.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: Practice on the putting green first, where you can clean every time, and add the other four situations one at a time.
Harder: Have a friend call out a random reason for the lift, such as damage, identifying, in the way, or relief, and answer at once whether you may clean the ball.
Common questions
Can you clean your golf ball on the green?
Yes. Under Rule 14.1c, you can always clean a ball you lift from the green.
What is the penalty for cleaning your ball when you shouldn't?
The penalty is one stroke. This applies when you clean a ball in a situation where the rules don't allow it.
