Ground Out

The act of touching the sand with your club in a bunker isn’t always considered a penalty

Dear North Shore Golf,

I have two questions regarding grounding a club while in a bunker.

First, I was playing with someone who on a couple of occasions brought two or three different clubs into a bunker before deciding on which club to use. When he made his choice, he dropped the other clubs in the bunker next to him before making his shot. Should he be penalized for grounding a club, even though it wasn’t the club he was using to make his shot?

Secondly, during a recent round I was exiting a bunker after I took my shot and as I was stepping onto the green I used the grip-end of my sand wedge as a cane to help lift me up and out. The guy I was playing against said I should be penalized for grounding my club. Was he correct?

- L.G. Haverhill, Mass.

North Shore Golf asked Mike Miller, head pro at Indian Ridge Country Club, to answer these questions.

Dear L.G.
You have posed two very good questions because both of these situations can occasionally arise during a round of golf.

In my experience officiating golf events, I have found that most golfers are aware that grounding their club while in a bunker is an infraction of the rules. I have also found that many golfers are unaware of the penalties associated with this infraction and the circumstances in which a penalty would not be assessed.

The answer to your questions can be found by referencing Rule 13 in the USGA Rules of Golf. Rule 13 states the ball must be played as it lies and that a golfer may not improve his lie, area of intended swing or line of play. Rule 13 also lists prohibited actions when a ball is in a hazard. A hazard is a bunker or any water hazard. A golfer is “prohibited” from testing the condition of a hazard, touching or moving a loose impediment (a natural object) or “touching the ground in the hazard with his hand or club.”

It is apparent that in both of the situations you have described that a rules infraction has occurred. The rules of golf are very precise in spelling out actions that are allowable and actions that are prohibited and result in a penalty. However, in keeping with the spirit of the game, the written rules also provide “exceptions” in which specific acts are justifiably not penalized when the player’s intentions are considered, as well as the end result of their actions.

Exception 1 to Rule 13-4 states there is no penalty for placing clubs in a hazard provided nothing is done to test the hazard or improve the lie. Exception 1 also states there is no penalty if the club touches the ground as result of or to prevent falling.

So to answer your questions, in both of the scenarios you have questioned, there is no penalty.

As a rules official, I always read word for word the specific rule to the player(s) when interpreting whether there has been an infraction. I recommend all golfers do the same if they believe an opponent or fellow competitor is in violation of the rules. In doing so, we can keep rulings accurate and impersonal and keep the game fair, fun and friendly.

Have a great season!

- Mike Miller, Head Pro, Indian Ridge Country Club

Mike Miller began his professional career in 1994 as an assistant at Thomson Country Club. He then moved on to Indian Ridge in 1995 and gained membership in the PGA in 2001. Mike, who spent his years in junior golf at Billerica Country Club being mentored by Barrie Bruce, lives in North Reading with his wife Ellen.