Autumn is deepening, and fallen leaves tumble across the ground in the cold wind. For golf courses, those leaves are one of the season's bigger headaches. Crews clear them morning and evening, but more keep blowing onto the course.
A well-struck ball can come to rest on top of the leaves or disappear beneath them, on the fairway or on the green. Sometimes a player has to take a stance on them. Knowing the Rules of Golf can help in these situations.
Under the rules, a fallen leaf is a natural object that is not attached to anything, which makes it a loose impediment (see Definitions). A loose impediment may be removed anywhere on or off the course, in any way, without penalty. A player may clear it by hand or with a foot. That applies not only on the fairway but also in the rough, in bunkers and in penalty areas (Rule 15.1a). Twigs and pine cones are loose impediments as well, so they may also be cleared away.
There is a caveat. Outside the putting green and the teeing area, a player who causes the ball to move while removing leaves incurs a one-stroke penalty (Rule 9.4). For that reason, when a ball comes to rest on top of leaves, it should in practice be played as it lies. If the ball moves while the leaves are being cleared, it must be replaced on its original spot. Playing without replacing it brings the general penalty for playing from a wrong place — two strokes in stroke play, loss of hole in match play (Rule 14.7a).
Leaves can also pile up on the spot where a player must drop when taking relief, such as from a cart path. In that case, the leaves in the relief area may be cleared before the drop, because loose impediments can be removed anywhere on or off the course. More care is needed with leaves lying where a ball must be replaced. Before lifting that ball, a player must not deliberately remove a loose impediment if doing so is likely to cause the ball to move, except on the putting green. Doing so costs the player one stroke. The removed leaves do not have to be put back.
Leaves that interfere with a stance may be cleared freely. Under pine trees, where needles blanket the ground, a player's feet can slip during the swing, producing a mis-hit or even an injury. Clearing the needles where the feet will be placed, without moving the ball, allows for a firmer address position.
Na Yeon Choi won a tournament thanks to this rule. At the 2015 Coates Championship on the LPGA Tour, she pushed her tee shot on the 17th hole in the final round into a stand of pine trees on the left, leaving the ball in a thick bed of pine needles. Her caddie pointed out that she was allowed to clear the needles around her stance. Choi escaped the trouble and won by one stroke.
Beyond avoiding moving the ball, there is another point to watch when clearing leaves or pine needles. A player must not deliberately press down or flatten growing grass around the ball, which is not a loose impediment. Doing so can improve the conditions affecting the stroke, including the lie of the ball, the area of intended stance, the area of intended swing and the line of play. Bunkers call for particular caution, since clearing loose impediments near the ball can easily improve the lie. Only minimal contact is allowed. A player who improves the conditions affecting the stroke through excessive contact incurs the general penalty (Rule 8.1a).
Complicated and confusing rules can turn a round into an argument with your playing partners. Knowing the rules makes golf more enjoyable — and can sometimes lower your score. Subscribe, and before long you will be the one everyone asks. Questions are welcome at sygolf@sedaily.com.