Thank you for pointing out the obvious...I turned off putter pal first thing...still affected meter.
Start a practice game to check condition of a ball?...I have...sometimes forget to click "Practice"...then penalized for quitting.
WGT "CHANGES" the brand of ball during play to a WGT ball...change is change... your logic doesn't make sense. You say: " I suspect changing the programming during the game to allow for any but the equipped ball and the free starter ball would be a programming nightmare" .....well ...you have a program in place....change it. I'm not asking to re-invent the game.
In tournament golf...if a player empties his bag of balls into a lake....an agreement by committee (players in group) can allow a player to continue play as long as the ball is similar and legal in specifications. They do not make him hit a rock.