Hi Linda,
Player A is off the green and asks that the flag be
attended. Player A hits the ball, and the person attending the flag does not
remove the flag, and the ball hits the flagstick. Does player A incur a 2-stroke
penalty even though he is off the green? In short, when you request that the
flagstick be attended, no matter where you are, if the ball touches the
flagstick, will you incur a 2-stroke penalty?
Lou from Atlanta, Georgia
Dear Lou,
Yes. The player who hits the ball incurs a
two-stroke/loss-of-hole penalty if his ball strikes the flagstick when it is
attended [Rule 17-3].
If the flagstick had been attended without the player’s knowledge or authority (meaning the player did
not ask that the flagstick be attended or he was unaware someone had stepped
over to attend it), the player attending the flagstick would incur the
two-stroke penalty [Rule 17-2].
Linda
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