Rules Violation- How do you handle?

How do you handle the following violation? From a distance, you clearly see another competitor try to stomp down with his foot or press down with his club a small shrub that interferes with his swing. He only does it once and the shrub appears to return very closely to its original position, but you have no doubt he was attempting to move it from his swing path. He immediately takes a swing, hits an embedded rock behind his ball and whiffs, which he declares. He swings again and gets the ball back into play. More details- Competition is Fourball (partner best ball) in a Men's League with a relaxed atmosphere. Its late in the round and the guy in question's team has little to no chance to finish in the money. It is the first time you played with this individual, but he is a regular league player. Prior to him whiffing, his partner had to chip out from the woods on the other side of the fairway.

Pretty much this. I would address it as calmly as possible. I would actually maybe ask him if he knows the rule on improving your lie. If not then he needs to assess a penalty for it.

I would keep track of that score he should have had. When he goes to sign the scorecard I would bring it up again and mention that signing an incorrect score can get you DQ'd. If he still signs the wrong score, then I would bring it to the attention of the people running the tournament.

I start out assuming that he doesn't know that he has breached a rule and either bring it up to him or his partner in a tactful manner.  I don't want a confrontation, but he needs to be informed that what he did is not allowed.  If he resists, then it has to be taken to the league committee, because it can't just be passed off.  Just because this time he didn't appear to accomplish much by his error, that doesn't mean that next time won't give him a significantly better shot.

I've known quite a few guys in casual rounds who always press down the grass or weeds behind the ball, almost as part of their pre-shot routine.  A couple of times when it was a friend doing it, I mentioned it just as a point of knowledge that it was not allowed under the rules, and in both cases the player wasn't even aware that it was against the rules.   They also were so receptive to learning about that rule that it led to further discussion on other general playing rules.

Even a casual player may have the desire to play golf the right way, and anyone playing in any sort of competitive group has an obligation to know how to proceed correctly on the course.

Thanks for the good advice guys! I think his partner's score counted for the hole. I was going to talk to him about it after the round, but he took off pretty quickly. Will try to bring it up tactfully to him next time I see him.

What is the rule?

He indicated the player tried to improved condition of play. Regardless if the shrub returned to original position, the violation was the "intent"

IMPROVING LIE, AREA OF INTENDED STANCE OR SWING, OR LINE OF PLAY

13-2/0.5

Meaning of "Improve" in Rule 13-2

Q. Rule 13-2 prohibits a player from improving certain areas. What does "improve" mean?

A. In the context of Rule 13-2 , "improve" means to change for the better so that the player gains a potential advantage with respect to the position or lie of his ball, the area of his intended stance or swing, his line of play or a reasonable extension of that line beyond the hole, or the area in which he is to drop or place a ball. Therefore, merely changing an area protected by Rule 13-2 will not be a breach of Rule 13-2 unless it creates such a potential advantage for the player in his play.

Examples of changes that are unlikely to create such a potential advantage are if a player:

• repairs a small pitch-mark on his line of play five yards in front of his ball prior to making a 150-yard approach shot from through the green;
• accidentally knocks down several leaves from a tree in his area of intended swing with a practice swing, but there are still so many leaves or branches remaining that the area of intended swing has not been materially affected; or
• whose ball lies in thick rough 180 yards from the green, walks forward and pulls strands of grass on his line of play and tosses them in the air to determine the direction of the wind.

Examples of changes that are likely to create such a potential advantage are if a player:

• repairs a pitch-mark through the green five yards in front of his ball and on his line of play prior to making a stroke from off the putting green that might be affected by the pitch-mark (e.g., a putt or a low-running shot);
• accidentally knocks down a single leaf from a tree in his area of intended swing with a practice swing, but, as this was one of very few leaves that might either interfere with his swing or fall and thereby distract him, the area of intended swing has been materially affected; or
• pulls strands of grass from rough a few inches behind his ball to test the wind, but thereby reduces a potential distraction for the player, or resistance to his club, in the area of his intended swing.

The determination as to whether a player has gained a potential advantage from his actions is made by reference to the situation immediately prior to his stroke. If there is a reasonable possibility that the player's action has created a potential advantage, the player is in breach of Rule 13-2 .