[MadMark]

Greens keepers know as well as anyone else that there is no rule against using something other than a putter on the green. The game is designed to score as low as you can, using the best club for the shot at hand. Yes, you should try to do as little damage (if any) to the green as possible. But as mentioned above, the design of the green contributes to club selection based on where the golfer's ball ends up on the green.

Damage the green, try and fix it as best you can. Replace the turf as best you can. I have even seen damaged greens repaired with divot sand. We have all putted on sanded greens at one time or another. All the greens keepers I know carry extra pin plugs to fix this type of damage when they find them. It's a 2 minute repair, and is no different that when they move the pin to a different location. They don't like it, but it is still part of their job description.

Can a greens keeper mark a damaged section of the green as "under repair"?

I can only putt a ball so far. Get me on a huge green with a clear putt to the pin that is longer than I know I can reach, using my putter, then I am choking down and maybe going with one of my woods. There is no need to use a wedge in this situation. I know a guy who has a 34", 12* driver he putts with all the time. He does not carry a putter in his bag. It also doubles for so many other different shots for him. I am even tinkering around with this idea.