This could have the potential to be one of our shortest Rules articles ever. Why? Well, ‘yes’ is quite a short word!
From 2019 onwards, the definition of ‘ball-marker’ in the Rules of Golf expressly mentions that it is perfectly okay to use a tee to mark your ball on the putting green. It was before, to be honest, but that definition now brings unequivocal clarity to help counter those who might try to pull you up on it. According to that definition, a ball-marker is “an artificial object when used to mark the spot of a ball to be lifted, such as a tee, a coin, an object made to be a ball-marker or another small piece of equipment”.
The Rules say that it's fine to mark your ball on the green with a tee
If the answer is so clear-cut, why is it even a question? Well, it’s one of those urban myths that has long rattled around the clubhouse walls at many a golf club. Someone, somewhere will at some stage have told someone else that sticking a tee in the green is testing the surface and they’re pretty sure there’s a Rule that says you can’t do that. And it’s stuck.
Now is the time to unstick it, although, to be fair, if you do use a tee rather than a standard ball-marker or flat coin, there is more chance of being asked to move your ball-marker aside more often as there is much more likelihood of a ball being stopped or deflected badly by something protruding a couple of inches above the ground than something lying flat on it. But that’s a matter of inconvenience rather than illegality.
As for deliberately testing the green, yes, that is prohibited under Rule 13.1e, but only in two specific ways. That Rule says, “During a round and while play is stopped under Rule 5.7a, a player must not deliberately take either of these actions to test the putting green or a wrong green – rub the surface or roll a ball.” Even then, this only applies while you are playing that hole and you may then do both those things on that green once you have completed the hole.
If you think about it logically, what would sticking a tee in a green really tell you about how your putt might perform anyway? Precious little and certainly no more or less than you would learn from fixing one (or more) pitchmarks on that green before you putt by sticking a pitchmark repairer or tee in - and we all know that we’re encouraged to do that.
Don't be tempted to use a natural object like this piece of bark to mark your ball as that is not allowed under the Rules
One word of warning though. Note that the definition of ball-marker does say that whatever you use must be an “artificial object”. So don’t be tempted to use a natural object or loose impediment such as a twig, leaf or stone to mark your ball as that is not allowed and will cost you a penalty stroke.
