evahakool
Challenge Tour Pro
Can anyone tell me what penalty you would get if you hit leaves on a tree on your backswing, It wasant a practice swing but I stopped the swing when I hit the leaves.
Can anyone tell me what penalty you would get if you hit leaves on a tree on your backswing, It wasant a practice swing but I stopped the swing when I hit the leaves.
This one of the biggest urban myths. You may be penalised but it depends if you improve your intended swing or not. There is a decision that covers it but basically if there's (say) one big leaf or twig on your backswing and you knock it off with you practice swing then it's a certain penalty. If there is a branch with a hundred leaves on and you knock off a couple then probably no penalty. In between is a bit of a grey area but I'd say that so long as you don't hack away the vegetation to give yourself an advantage then usually you would be OK. If there's just a couple of branches/leaves in your way then be very careful.
Edit: Sorry misread op. Above only applies to practice swing. You can do what you like in the actual stroke as long as you don't inprove things in "fairly taking your stance".
Rule 13-2 states that there is no penalty if the action occurs in making a stroke or the backward movement of a club for a stroke and the stroke is made. If you discontinue the stroke therefore no stroke is made and so a penalty may apply. This is clarified in Decision 13-2/14.5 Branch Broken on Backswing and Swing Discontinued which says
Q. A player’s ball lies under a tree. The player fairly takes his stance and starts his backswing with the intention of making a stroke. Near the top of his backswing his club strikes a branch and breaks it. At that point he discontinues his swing. Rule 13-2 states in part: “… a player must not improve … the area of his intended stance or swing …except … in making a stroke or the backward movement of his club for a stroke.†Is the player exempt from penalty under this exception?
A. No, because the swing was discontinued the backward movement of the club was not in fact the backward movement for a stroke."
You take a swing at your ball.
You hit a tree on the backswing and you stop your swing.
Some leaves fall down.
If you HAVENT improved your line of swing, there is no penalty.