Dear Linda,
When your ball comes to rest near or under bushes and you take a practice swing and shear off some leaves or twigs, is this improving your lie and subject to penalty strokes?
Thanks ,
Lulu
Dear Lulu,
This is a tricky question, Lulu. Before I answer it, if you will permit me a small correction in your terminology, what you are talking about here is improving the area of your intended swing. Improving your lie would refer to changes made on the ground.
Here’s the story. The official rule is that a player is not permitted to improve the area of his intended swing; if he does so, the penalty is two strokes (loss of hole in match play). However, in order to decide whether there is a penalty involved here, you must establish whether the area was actually improved.
Sometimes, knocking down a number of leaves with a practice swing will not improve the area, since the player may have to contact a good many more leaves when he hits the ball. Other times he may improve the area by knocking down just one leaf! Think about it – if there were only one leaf in your way and you knocked it down with your practice swing, you would have removed your only distraction. [Decision 13-2/22].
You and your playing partners must decide whether your practice swing made the task of hitting your ball easier. If you have removed a distraction, you should be penalized; if you still have a good number of leaves and twigs in your way, you may carry on with no penalty.
Golf rules are not always cut and dry!
Linda
Copyright © 2009 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
