Don

I think you are. Although one could argue the ball was 'cleaned' when the hair was removed I felt that it was part of the examination process and no gross cleaning was involved so let it go.

DC

Dc,
I would like to add a ryder ( or is that a rider) to your question;- why is it that the rules do not allow for the ball to be cleaned when the player thinks it is unfit for play under R5-3?
I ask this so that those following along may be able to see the underlying principle!
Don

Where do you play golf Pennard

I would think the reason is becasue otherwise a player could say after every shot that he thinks his ball is unfit for play just so that he could get a 'free' clean of his ball.