Throughout Australia, there are around 400 courses that have greens comprised of oiled sand or some other similar material, usually due to the prohibitive cost of maintaining grass greens by small clubs in rural areas.
The player is able to smooth the putting surface with a provided smoother/rake prior to putting. Certain conditions apply to the smoothing process and how to mark the ball on the green.
UPDATE: The Special Rules for Sand Greens have been amended in line with the changes to the Rules for 2019. This includes modifications to the Rule numbers and other minor text changes.
View the document below for the complete Special Rules for Sand Greens.
Click here for "Special Rules for Sand Greens"
Click here to see a bullet list of the changes