Rule 8 · Playing the ball
Rule 8: Do not improve the course
Official title: Course Played as It Is Found
You take the course as you find it. Before your stroke you must not improve your lie, stance, area of swing or line of play, unless a Rule allows it.
8.1 What you must not improve
Prohibited are, for example, breaking branches, pressing down grass, replacing a divot or smoothing the ground in front of your ball. What belongs to normal play stays allowed: fairly taking your stance, grounding the club lightly, searching for your ball, preparing the teeing area. If you have bent something, in certain cases you can avoid the penalty by restoring it before your stroke. If another person or an animal makes your lie worse after your ball has come to rest, you may restore that too.
Rules questions on this
- Can I tread down the grass behind my ball?
- Can I dig my feet into the sand in a bunker?
- Can I touch my line of play on the putting green?
- Can I ground my club behind the ball on the fairway?
- Can I break off a branch that is in my way?
10 more questions
- Can I remove an out-of-bounds stake that is in my way?
- Can I replace a divot in front of my ball?
- Can I repair a ball-mark on the fringe?
- Can I wipe dew off my line of play?
- Can I flatten the ground or press down grass in the teeing area?
- Can I brush away sand in front of my ball on the fairway?
- Moved a branch to check if it is loose: is there a penalty?
- Pulled out a boundary stake and put it back: is there a penalty?
- Another player leaves a footprint by my ball in a bunker: what can I do?
- Put a stone under my foot and removed it again: is there a penalty?
8.2 Deliberately, for your own ball
You must not deliberately change anything else either to affect your ball at rest or your next stroke, such as smoothing the ground where your ball might land later. You may still take care of the course, for example by smoothing footprints or replacing divots.
Rules question on this
8.3 Deliberately, for another ball
The same goes for another player’s ball or stroke. You must not deliberately change conditions to help or harm them.
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