Linda, there is a weeping willow which overhangs one of our tees
and one of my colleagues when taking his stance at the far left of the tee
discovered that a hanging branch of the tree interfered with his swing so he
broke it off. I suggested that this was a penalty but he disagreed because the
ball was not in play.
Who is right?
Lou from the south of France
Dear Lou,
You are right, Lou. While players are allowed to eliminate
irregularities on the teeing ground,
they are never permitted to break branches overhead that interfere with their
swing. Furthermore, if the player breaks the branch and then moves to another
part of the teeing ground to hit his tee shot, he cannot avoid the two-stroke
penalty for improving the area of his intended swing.
Decision 13-2/14 addresses this exact question:
Linda
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