Recently, Simon Dyson was disqualified from the BMW Masters at Lake Malaren Golf Club in Shanghai, China.
Under the Rules of Golf he was found to have breached Rule 16-1a, which states that a player must not touch his
line of putt. He subsequently failed to add a two-shot penalty to his score when signing his card, and as a result
was disqualified under Rule 6-6d. Television viewers had alerted The European Tour to the incident, which took
place on the eighth green during the second round
So as to recap, is it permissible under the rules to repair spike marks or other similar problems with the
green in the line of a putt? No, you may not repair spike marks or tap down any other sprigs of grass
on the green that you fear might affect your putt's roll. You are allowed to repair ball marks (and
should always do so).
It's a common sight with recreational players: A player lines up his or her putt, then walks that line
between the ball and the hole using the putter to tamp down blades of grass or other imperfections in
the green. But the fact is, that's not allowed under the rules (see Rule 16). As the USGA writes, "One of
the fundamental principles imbued in the Rules of Golf is that you play the course as you find it." If
there's a huge sprig of grass between your ball and the cup, well, those are the breaks.
However, it is encouraged that all players, after finishing a hole, tamp down any stray blades of grass
that they might encounter as they leave the green. Under the rules, players who agree to repair spike
marks are to be disqualified from any competition for agreeing to waive the rules (Rule 1-3).