"If a player's ball rests on the flagstick in the hole and is not yet holed, the player or another person authorized by the player may move or remove the flagstick and if the golf ball falls into the hole, it shall be deemed to have been holed by the player with his last stroke; otherwise the ball, if moved, must be placed on the edge of the hole without penalty."².
The official rules of golf therefore allow a ball that has been played to the hole from outside the green and has lodged itself between the flag and the edge of the hole to be holed when the flag is moved. Care should be taken to ensure that the ball falls into the hole at the flag without tampering with the ball. According to the golf rules, a penalty stroke is not added in this case.
Status: 2018