Hi Linda
Very much appreciate your Blog and emails. They make us all better golfers when we know how the rules can help us.
I have a couple of questions that have arisen recently in my role as Women’s Rules Chair for my club.
Question 1:
A ball comes to rest under sweeping cedar branches that almost touch the ground but have lots of air in-between them. I believe this is part of Rule 8. The player is permitted (I think) to take her stance by backing into the tree, thus moving some branches out of the way. The player is not allowed to use her hands to move such branches or push them out of the way. Basically a player can assume a reasonable stance but is not provided with a reasonable swing path necessarily. Is this correct that you can back in to take a stance?
Question 2:
In a practise swing, if the player hits branches causing them to fall or break, do they incur a-stroke penalty? For some reason I think this may have changed but I can’t find it in the Player’s Edition.
Question 3:
We had a situation where a player marked another player’s ball on the putting green but did not ask permission to do this. Rule 14.1b says that you must give permission each time before the ball is lifted rather than giving it generally for the round. What I am unclear on is if there is a penalty to the player who has marked and lifted the ball without asking permission. The rule says “must” but no penalty is provided.
Thank you so much.
Lulu from Vancouver, BC, Canada
Dear Lulu,
Before I answer your questions, I am going to suggest that you purchase both the Rules of Golfand the Official Guide to the Rules of Golf. The Player’s Editionis designed for beginners; both volumes I recommend are indispensable for a Rules Chairperson.
Question 1:
You may back into a tree to take your stance, provided it is the least intrusive course of action [Rule 8.1b(6)]. You may bend a branch to get under the tree to take your stance, but you may not deliberately move, bend, or break a branch to get it out of the way of your swing [Interpretations 8.1b/3 and /4].
Question 2:
If you improve the conditions affecting the stroke by breaking branches with a practice swing, you will get the General Penalty (loss of hole/two strokes) [Rule 8.1a]. You can avoid penalty by restoring the original condition [Rule 8.1c], but it is highly unlikely that you will be able to fix a broken branch, considering you are not permitted to use other materials (e.g., tape) to repair it.
Questions 3:
Common sense and good etiquette would seem to dictate that you not touch another player’s ball without their consent. If you mark and lift someone else’s ball on the putting green without their permission, you will get one penalty stroke in match play [Rule 9.5b]; there is no penalty in stroke play [Rule 9.6].
Linda
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