Rules Center Balls Overhanging Hole On The Edge

During the 2021 Solheim Cup, Nelly Korda had a putt for eagle that stopped just short, right on the lip of the hole. As one does when a ball sits just short, Korda had fallen to her knees in disbelief and passion. Before she could even stand nor make her way to the ball, her opponent, Madelene Sagstrom on Team Europe, picked up the ball as to say the next stroke was conceded. Europe had made their birdie putt which they thought tied the hole, but this would turn out to be wrong.

The Rules Officials had to step in, even calling back up from the official watching via TV to confirm. Sagstrom failed to allow Korda the time to approach her ball and the subsequent 10 allotted seconds for an overhanging ball to drop. Sagstrom tried to argue that the ball was not overhanging and would have never gone in, but due to her actions denying the chance that it could have fallen in (confirmed by the referee, observer, and TV observer), Korda’s ball was deemed holed for eagle and Team USA won the hole.

John further explains overhanging the hole -->

Dear John: I stroked my 25-ft birdie putt on the par-3 16th hole at Porto Cima from the bottom tier up to the top tier. The Ball started out with good pace, slowed down nicely as it rolled up the ridge, headed dead straight toward the hole, and then stopped just short, overhanging the lip of the hole. I walked to the hole and waited a little bit, yelled encouragement to the ball, waited a little bit more, after which my ball finally fell into the hole. I thought that I made a birdie, but the guys we were playing against said it was a par because the ball took too long to fall into the hole. Who was right?

- HungOver

Dear HungOver: I don’t suspect there is any money riding on this answer, is there? Rule 13.3 governs a ball overhanging the lip of the hole. The rule has limited patience. The player has a reasonable amount of time to reach the hole plus 10 seconds more for the ball to fall into hole (after a putt, chip, pitch, bunker shot, any shot). If the ball falls into the hole before the 10 seconds are up, the ball is holed with the previous stroke (a birdie in your case!).

After 10 seconds, the ball is deemed to be at rest, period. This is true even if the player thinks it may still be moving (the criterion is the ball overhanging lip of hole for 10 seconds, not whether the ball is still moving). Indeed, even if the ball were moving as the player tapped it in the hole, there would be no penalty for making a stroke at a ball in motion, because the ball is deemed at rest. If the ball falls into the hole after 10 seconds, the player is deemed to have holed out with his last stroke and must add a penalty stroke (amounting to a par in your case). This is why you often hear players start counting aloud to 10 in such circumstances.

These 10 seconds are a protected period to which the player is entitled. All players should stay clear of the hole and avoid any pretext of influencing the movement of the ball (e.g. jumping near the ball, removing the flagstick from the hole, knocking the ball away, blowing on the ball). In match play, if an opponent moves the players ball within the 10-seconds window (e.g. as if to quickly concede the next stroke), there is no penalty, but the ball is deemed holed with the previous stroke (Rule 13.3b). In stroke play, if another player moves the ball within the 10-second window, he or she incurs a two-stroke penalty, and the ball is replaced on the lip of the hole. Should the player tap his ball into the hole within 10 seconds, the window is voided, and the ball is holed. A ball lifted or moved by the player before the 10 seconds expire is treated as at rest and must be replaced on the lip of the hole.