Stupid rule

[zeg]

I don't think the rule is necessarily stupid. When you touched the ground next to the ball, you might change the conditions. On the green? Probably not, but in heavy rough, on pine straw, etc, you may shift the lie in such a way that the ball moves a short time later. It's hard to say whether you did or didn't, so to avoid the question, the rule is that you did. This doesn't come up often, and it saves arguing over a grey area when it does, so I think it's reasonable.

[Fourputt]

  Norm3333 said:

Or maybe you believe that grounding your club behind the ball, will cause it to oscillate.

Yes it can when it's windy. Hovering the putter behind the ball may cause it to oscillate too, but oscilating isn't a penalty. However, if you hover the putter you won't incur a penalty if it also causes the ball to move. Placing the clubhead near the ball in a strong wind will disrupt the air currents in the vicinity of the ball, and that can produce unexpected results. I've had the ball move on greens that were a heck of a lot slower than the ones at Augusta National.

I play in strong winds in the fall, winter and spring here in Colorado, and I've learned to err on the side of caution when I do. I never ground my putter when it's windy, so it's been years since I've had to worry about this particular penalty.