Another Rules Situation - returning a ball back to a player on the putting green

This situation is one which crops up regularly in matches.  A player again playing in a match concedes an opponent their putt and then either rolls the player’s ball back to their opponent or knocks it back with their putter.  Is this a breach of rule 16-1d – testing the surface of the putting green?

This is a tricky situation, basically covered by Decisions 16-1d/1 and 16-1d/2, because the player’s intentions come into the equation.  If the player knocks the opponents ball back to them only for the purpose of returning the ball to the player then such a casual action is not considered a breach of the rules. Even in the case where a player knocks the ball back along the line of their own, yet to be taken, putt the manner and apparent purpose of the action have to be considered when considering if the player is actually testing the surface of the green.  A back hand flick with the putter to return the ball to its rightful owner wouldn’t be regarded a breach of the rules but a more considered putting stroke probably would.