Improving your lie

Have you ever been in a situation on the golf course where your ball hit the fairway and hopped forward a few inches in front of the pitch mark? Sure, we all have. Did you know that stepping on or flattening that pitch mark is a violation of rule 13-2? You are not allowed to improve your lie and that includes any area that you are dropping a ball as part of getting relief from an abnormal condition or obstruction. An even more common violation of the rule is when the ball hits the ground near the green and hops backwards so that pitch mark is in front of your ball and probably right in the line you were planning to putt. You are not allowed to smooth that area (off the green) that is on or near our intended line of play.

So the next time you are thinking about "caring for the golf course" right before you hit, you might want to wait until after the stroke so you don't incur a penalty. In match play a violation of rule 13-2 is "loss of hole" and in stroke play, it is a two stroke penalty!