Grounding Club In Sand Trap

Match play you lose the hole

Stroke play 2 stroke penalty

Weekend play with your buddies - chug one beer

It depends if anyone saw you ground your club (just kidding, just kidding). Answer is above.

I just saw one of my playing partners do that yesterday, but he was doing many things slightly off that day.

It was 106 degrees (So. Cal.), so I didn't mention anything.

All of us were double bogey or worse. I think each of made a par. So, it did not matter.

We had fun anyway.

Almost positive it's ok to ground your club ONLY if it does not affect the lie of the ball and it's not on your backswing. 
 

actually after reviewing the usga rules.  It is a penalty, unless you can say you're smoothing the ground in respect to caring for the course or to prevent falling or the many other weird exceptions.
 

Wow, this was a real expert opinion

Fortunately, it was way closer to truth than Tom's previous post.

 

Why would you offer an answer to a rules question when you clearly know nothing at all about the rules?

Well I apologize for upsetting you so much.  Must be misinformation from multiple debates over the subject.  In casual games, I think people take this rule much too seriously.  I've seen people throw tantrums when someone's club barely grounds on their waggle. Then there's a huge fight over how to score the hole.

If you had multiple debates one would think you'd know the actual rule.  As for taking "this" rule too seriously, the rules are the rules, you either follow them or you're not playing golf imo. 

 

You must play with idiots or at the very least people who like to fight. Why is there a fight? You point to the rule and that tells you how to score the hole.

Well, i do believe that exceptions exist to even the most 'obvious' answer.  And what does 'grounding' mean?  Is that intentional or accidental?  Slipping on the wet grassy slope leading into the bunker and touching the sand with the clubhead far from your ball, is that grounding?  Sorry, iacas, but the world just ain't so obvious.  I offer the large and wordy 'decisions' book which supplement the RULES OF GOLF. 

Of course the Decisions tell you the answer to the points you query above.

 

But the Rule is not concerned with 'grounding'. It is concerned with touching the ground (in a hazard).

 

On this subject, yes, yes it is.

Rules are rules, yes.  Still, there are a few weird exceptions in the rule book.  While I understand that you cannot ground your club like it's a fairway shot, who is to say (besides the person hitting) that they didn't lose their balance somewhat while taking their approach and graze the sand slightly.  I also don't understand how it's ok to take 2 clubs into the bunker and chuck one on the ground yet you cant even accidentally touch the sand 15 feet away from where your ball lies with your club in hand.  Is there just a ton of misinformation on the internet about this?
 

 

I don't play with you so I really don't care what you do on the course.  But people who ask questions on a Rules Forum expect answers that have to do with what the rules really are, not what you are able to rationalize for yourself.  When someone is "almost positive" about something that is clearly WRONG, they should not be answering questions on a rules forum.

 

The only reason there is a ton of misinformation on the internet is because of people like you.  Your answer had nothing to do with weird exceptions in the rule book.  It was just pure nonsense.  It is one thing to question why the rule is the way it is, as MEfree does all the time.  It is quite another to state that the rule is what you think it should be when the actual rule is something quite different.

 

A word of advice:  when you find yourself at the bottom of a hole, stop digging.

 

If you touch the ground with your club in your hand - penalty. There cannot be variable distances from the ball. How close is close?

 

If it isn't in your hand, then no penalty. It is presumed that you cannot get any information about the ground if your hand is not involved.

 

It is also assumed that the player who may have lost this balance is honest. As all golfers are. 

Although you present a good guidance here I need to disagree slightly. You may touch sand with a club you have in your hand when you are about to lay that extra club down in the hazard. The penalty comes into the picture once you touch the ground with the club you are going to use to make your next stroke.

This may result in quite nasty situations when having two clubs in your hands and laying one of them down touching the ground (accidentally) with both of them. How would you rule that?