The Rules of Golf are tricky! Thankfully, we’ve got the guru. Our Rules Guy knows the book front to back. Got a question? He’s got all the answers.
I hit a shot into a greenside bunker. My ball half-plugged about halfway up the steep face. As I was establishing a stance, I caused the sand to slide down the face with my ball along for the ride, ending up in the flat bottom of the bunker. What next? – Fred Mohr, Valencia, Penn.
When Fred Mohr takes a stance, dammit, Fred Mohr takes a STANCE! Seriously, Mr. Mohr, you need to tread lighter — alas, this is what the Rules refer to as a double-whammy. (No, they don’t, but we do.)
Rules Guy: Can you still take relief from a stance on the cart path if your ball is in a penalty area?
You caused your ball to move in a situation that is not an exception to the principle of play the ball as it lies, so you’ll get one penalty stroke and need to replace the ball, under Rule 9.4. Since the lie has been altered in sand, to replace this ball you’re going to do so on the original spot, then recreate that half-plugged lie (see Rule 14.2d). And then try to play the shot without moving the ball again. Feet don’t fail you now!
For more stance-related guidance from our guru, read on …
A player hits his drive in the fairway. When he addresses his ball for his second shot, his foot is in a deep divot left by a previous group. He sees a clump of turf a few yards ahead, retrieves it and places it in the divot, then plays his shot. By improving his stance, has he broken the rules? – John Alario, Staten Island, N.Y.
Cruelly, he has. Replacing divots is proper etiquette but doing so in this instance is breaking one of golf’s most fundamental rules, namely, playing the course as you find it.
Rule 8.1a prohibits improving any condition affecting the stroke — here, the area of intended stance — by certain actions, one of which being altering the ground surface by replacing a divot in a divot hole.
He gets our sympathy as well as the general penalty of two strokes in stroke play and loss of hole in match play.
Want to find the right gear for your bag in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.
Got a question about the Rules? Ask the Rules Guy! Send your queries, confusions and comments to rulesguy@golf.com. We promise he won’t throw the book at you.
