Posted by Doug V., PGA Rules Official
Rule 21 allows you to pick up and clean your golf ball. It dictates the circumstances that are the only time that you can touch the golf ball once it’s in play from teeing ground to the time it arrives on the green. Anytime you have marked and picked up your ball, when you’re entitled to relief, for the most part you can clean it. The times that you cannot clean it are easier to focus on when understanding Rule 21:
- If you pick up a ball to see if it’s unfit for play, you can only clean it to the extent necessary to determine that.
- If you pick up a ball to identify it, you can only clean it to the extent necessary to determine that.
- If you take relief (from a cart path, ground under repair or casual water for example) you may pick up and fully clean your golf ball.
However, you must be careful at other times and could be penalized for not following Rule 21:
- If a player asks you to move your ball because it may interfere or assist with his or her shot, you cannot pick up your ball and clean it under those circumstances. In fact, if you were to put the ball in your pocket for instance you could be penalized for cleaning your ball in this case.
Be careful when using Rule 21 to pick up and clean your golf ball between the tee and the green. But it helps to have a clean ball, and in golf every little bit helps!