Sometimes during the play of a hole you may have the ball in your hand for various reasons and it is Rule 14.1c that details when you are not permitted to clean it. Be warned - cleaning it when you are not allowed to do so will result in a penalty! The video and article below reveal exactly what you are and are not allowed to do.
First though, it's worth reiterating that you are always allowed to clean your golf ball:
1) When you’ve reached the safety of the putting green and are able to mark and lift it.
Once you've reached the putting green you may always mark, lift and clean your golf ball
2) Between the play of two holes
3) Whenever you are taking free relief or a penalty drop.
However, you may have the ball in your hand for other reasons before you reach the green, and there are four specific scenarios where you need to be careful:
1) When lifting your ball under Rule 4.2c to determine if it is cracked or cut and therefore eligible for substitution during the play of a hole. If the ball proves not to be cracked or cut, you are not allowed to clean it before placing it back where it was and continuing play.
You can't clean your ball when you've lifted it to see if it's cracked or cut
2) When lifting your ball to identify it under Rule 7.3. In this scenario, cleaning is allowed only to the extent necessary to be able to identify your ball. So you can clean away any mud perhaps covering your identification mark, but no further cleaning is permitted before placing the ball back where it was and continuing play.
When lifting your ball to identify it you may only clean it to the extent necessary to be able to do so
3) When your ball is interfering with play for another player, who requests you to lift it (e.g. on their line on the fringe and they want to putt or when it is too close to their ball for their next stroke). You are not allowed to clean your ball in this situation so you need to either hold it carefully or place it down somewhere carefully before then replacing it once the other player has played their shot.
Take care not to clean your ball when you've been asked to lift it as it interferes with play
4) When lifting your ball to see if it lies in a condition from which relief is allowed. A good example here would be when checking to see if your ball is definitely embedded in its own pitchmark or has just settled into a little indentation. If it's the latter, you are not allowed to clean your ball before placing it back down, but if you do end up taking relief under a Rule (e.g. the embedded ball rule) then you are allowed to clean it.
If you clean your ball when not permitted to do so, or more than is necessary when cleaning your ball to identify it, you will be penalised one stroke under Rule 14.1c.
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