Dear Linda,
One player got on the green on 2. She putted; unfortunately,
the putt rolled off the green. She putted 2 more times and at the end of the
hole, she reported only 2 putts. I said: “No. You have 3 putts.” I said
3, she said 2. Who is right? I will apologize if I am wrong but I would like to
know what is the right way to count putts.
Thank you.
Lulu from Honolulu, Hawaii
Dear Lulu,
There is no Rule about how to count putts. The Committee
must decide whether to count all strokes that are made once the player has made
her first stroke on the putting green, or to count only those strokes that a
player makes while her ball is on the green. When the USGA counts putts in its
Championships, once the player has made her first stroke on the putting green,
all subsequent strokes are counted as putts, whether from on or off the putting
green. The Committee needs to tell the players how it wants them to count
putts; everyone needs to be on the same page.
Linda
Copyright © 2016 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
