Rules on the course
Wrong Putting Green: Ball, Stance and Mandatory Relief
When a wrong green interferes under Rule13.1f, you must take relief rather than play from it. The important check includes the reasonable stance and swing, not only whether the ball itself touches the surface.
Competitive Play · Updated October 22, 2026
Follow the worked example
A: ball on wrong green — mandatory complete relief
The wrong green is the lighter rectangle and belongs to the general area. The combined interference envelope makes P, just below the stance boundary, the nearest no-nearer complete-relief point. Blue is within one club-length of P, in the same course area, no nearer H than P, and clears ball, stance and swing.
- H
- Hole being played, outside the wrong green.
- A
- Ball on the wrong green: it must not be played as it lies.
- P
- Nearest complete-relief reference; drop in the blue region, not by the putting-green placement procedure.
B: fringe ball, stance only
Ball and swing are clear of the wrong green; a foot touches it. Ordinary Rule 13.1f requires complete relief. This example's adopted D-3.1 removes stance-only interference, so that particular Local Rule changes the answer. D-3.2 is a separate, specified paired-putting-green modification and is not assumed here.
- B
- Ball outside the wrong green, on its fringe/general area.
- F
- Stance overlaps the wrong green; local swing envelope does not.
C: only the line crosses
Ball, intended stance and swing are clear. The wrong green lies on the chosen line, which alone is not Rule 13.1f interference. Do not borrow a drop from cases A or B.
- H
- Hole being played.
- C
- Ball and physical stroke clear of the wrong green.
For plan A, assume a fictional right-handed straight stroke toward H. The measured local ball/swing envelope is ±8 plan units; the stance occupies 42–26 units left of the ball and ±16 along the line. These are example inputs, not universal stance dimensions. One club-length = 32 plan units.
The short version
- A wrong green can interfere with the ball, intended stance or intended swing.
- Relief must be complete and uses the same course area required by Rule13.1f.
- Model Local Rule D-3 can alter a stance-only case when adopted.
Three positions beside a neighboring green
Ava's ball rests on the neighboring hole's green. Ben's ball is in the general area, but his reasonable stance would touch that wrong green. Cara's ball and intended stance and swing are all clear; the surface simply lies along her intended line.
These are different interference questions. The third does not automatically qualify just because a line crosses the green. The diagram is an original comparison, not permission to take a shortcut across any surface called a green.
The place the ball started matters
Rule 13.1f requires the nearest point of complete relief in the same area of the course where the original ball came to rest, then a one-club-length relief area with the stated limits. In our general-area example, moving the ball to a bunker would not satisfy that area requirement.
A point that clears the ball but leaves a foot or swing on the wrong green is not complete relief. Consider the actual reasonable stroke, including handedness, instead of measuring from the ball alone.
Check a stance-only Local Rule
A Committee may adopt D-3.1, which removes wrong-green interference when it is only with the intended stance. D-3.2 is a separate specified paired-green modification; it is not the general stance-only rule assumed in our example. That is why Ben's case needs the event wording. It is not a universal exception to the ball-on-green case.
Nor can a clearly unreasonable club, stance, swing or direction be invented solely to manufacture interference. The rule's conditions still apply.
Use the right green procedure
Mandatory wrong-green relief uses a drop in the defined area; do not place on the nearest dry or attractive spot as though this were temporary water on your putting green.
If the interference is a path, use cart-path relief. Naming the condition first avoids borrowing a procedure from a superficially similar problem.
Your next move
Check the governing rule
Confirm the actual condition, adopted Local Rule and procedure before moving the ball.
Check the governing rule(Official source), opens in a new tabKeep reading
Sources and review
- What it covers
- 2023 Rules of Golf and current published clarifications/Model Local Rules checked October22,2026 for this specific scenario.
- Checked
Primary sources
What this page cannot tell you
- Original fictional diagrams; no actual course adoption or measured relief location is claimed. No named rules-qualified reviewer has reviewed this page.