I make it a policy of not going near a golf ball until I’m ready to hit it. I’ve just knocked it too many times in the fairway with a careless waggle and been forced to tack on a penalty shot. It’s so stupid I’m tempted to flog myself with a 7-iron as a punishment.
But it’s obviously on some of your minds if this email is any guide:
“What is the penalty, if any, for grounding your club behind the ball, before making your shot, either on the fairway or in the rough, and moving the clubhead back and forth behind the ball whilst the clubhead is in contact with the ground immediately behind your ball?”
One question but several different elements to it. What’s the answer? Let’s get stuck in…
Grounding golf club rules: What are you allowed to do?
Can you ground your golf club right behind or in front of the ball? Yes, you can. The key, though, is that you do it ‘lightly’.
What does lightly mean? Rule 8.1b (4) spells it out. It’s “allowing the weight of the club to be supported by the grass, soil, sand or other material on or above the ground surface”.
It doesn’t mean pressing the club into the ground and, obviously, you can’t do this in a bunker.
Earlier, Rule 8.1a spends quite a lot of time explaining what you’re not allowed to do and No. 3 might be relevant to our discussion.
If the action is improving the conditions affecting the stroke, you’re not allowed to “alter the surface of the ground”, including by “creating or eliminating holes, indentations or uneven surfaces”.
The conditions affecting the stroke include the lie of the player’s ball at rest, their area of intended stance and swing as well as their line of play and the relief area where the player will drop a ball.
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You would obviously need to see the impact of any such actions before determining whether there might be a penalty.
But, for example, let’s say a ball was in the rough and a clubhead was being repeatedly patted down behind it and was flattening the lie and area of intended swing.
That is clearly improving conditions affecting the stroke. The sanction is the general penalty – two shots or loss of hole in match play.
For some situations, a player who has improved conditions can avoid a penalty by restoring them before their next stroke.
However, when it comes to altering the surface of the ground, removing or pressing down sand or loose soil and removing dew, frost or water, there is no escape. A penalty cannot be avoided – no matter how much you try to cover your tracks.
Got a question for our expert?
Despite the changes to the Rules of Golf in 2019 and 2023, there are still some that leave us scratching our heads. I’ll try to help by featuring the best of your queries in this column. Get in touch with your questions by emailing me at s.carroll@nationalclubgolfer.com
What do you think about these grounding golf club rules? Let me know by leaving a comment on X.
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