They should not search for five minutes before doing so. They should not continue play until the players following them have passed and are out of range. When the play of a hole has been completed, players should immediately leave the putting green . If a match fails to keep its place on the course and loses more than one clear hole on the players in front, it should invite the match following to pass. A single player has no standing and should give way to a match of any kind.
Any match playing a whole round is entitled to pass a match playing a shorter round.
Care of the Course Holes in Bunkers Before leaving a bunker , a player should carefully fill up and smooth over all holes and footprints made by him. Spikes A player should ensure that any divot hole made by him and any damage to the putting green made by a ball is carefully repaired. On completion of the hole by all players in the group, damage to the putting green caused by golf shoe spikes should be repaired. Damage to Greens Flagsticks, Bags, etc. Players should ensure that, when putting down bags or the flagstick , no damage is done to the putting green and that neither they nor their caddies damage the hole by standing close to it, in handling the flagstick or in removing the ball from the hole .