Improving your lie where ever?

[rembrandt]

Do you bump the ball around in the fairway and rough to improve your lie? With the exception of some great courses that I've played on, I generally bump my ball to raise it some on grass where I can hit it. I hate it when the ball lies flat on the ground. Here in Texas we have some bad flat on the ground lies and I hate hitting it like that. Like hitting out of a sand trap all the time! OOPS...I've told on myself!

[chingali]

Never. Ever. Anywhere.

It's odd though that when practicing (I only ever practice off grass) I always make sure it's sitting up nicely. Sometimes I'll catch myself moving the ball on to a perfect lie when practicing and just play it as it ends up.

[ragontona]

As a rule, no. I play it as it lies. For casual/practice rounds though... if I'm somewhere within the tree line, let's just say I'm pretty liberal about the "unplayable lie" rule, and let's just say my "drop" is a little iffy. (i.e. I just kinda toss it out into the rough and play it from there. I do count the penalty though)

[Xt1ncT]

No.

There's a word for it.

Cheating.

The only time I ever improve my lie is when the local clean and place rule is in play. And then it's only when I am on the closely mown of the hole I am playing.

What you are doing is cheating - yourself mainly but cheating all the same.

Shame on you..!!!!

[Finn07]

Play the ball as it lies always no matter what.

[iacas]

Ditto what everyone else has said. Sorry to tell you, rembrandt, but you're not a 13 handicap. Not if you cheat all the time like you just admitted to doing.

And yet another post that could have used a poll, but since I think there'd only be one "yes" vote, maybe it's better there isn't one...

[prutkows]

the only time i improve my lie is if my ball lies in a bed of rocks or anything else that could do major damage to my club.. im pretty sure theres some kind of relief rule for situations like this but generally i just drop it 1 club length away and no closer to the hole.

i never play in tournaments so my rounds are always casual and if my "technique" for moving the ball is illegal.. i really dont care :] id rather do that then break or ruin a club.

[iacas]

the only time i improve my lie is if my ball lies in a bed of rocks or anything else that could do major damage to my club.. im pretty sure theres some kind of relief rule for situations like this but generally i just drop it 1 club length away and no closer to the hole.

If it's ground under repair, sure. Otherwise, no, not really.

It's always befuddled me how someone can honestly think they're a - in your case - 9.2 index when they admit to cheating. I don't know how often you have to move your ball off rocks. If it's once in a blue moon, it's probably not going to change your index. But anyway, I've seen people who always play the ball up and move it around. There's a story of one kid at my country club who had a 5.6 index because 6.5 was the highest allowed to play in men's local amateur events. So the kid signed up for the men's match play and then shoots 103 at a course easier than mine in the qualifier. I've seen him play. He'll hit three balls off the tee, usually topping one 10 yards, and chooses the best. He improves his lie everywhere. He rarely putts out. He'll leave the flagstick in on 8-foot putts and bang them off. He'll hit practice shots all the time (and usually take the best one)... and then post a 79 when there's no way in hell he broke 90. As I look online at GHIN.com, he's still listed as a 6.7 index. His last few scores include a 79, an 81, and another 79. And the sad and sorry thing is, he believes he's a 6.7 index. He once challenged me to a match playing our actual handicaps. If I hadn't been on the sixth hole already - and since he competes for a different team than the one I coach - I'd have given the punk a lesson. He's only cheating himself.

[cdriver]

Unless the club has a local rule allowing for moving the ball from some designated area, or it is ground under repair, we play em as they lie. When I joined my current group, they noodled the ball everywhere. I just kept playing it as it lay, and they eventually got the idea.

[rembrandt]

What we have down here and in most places I've played is called "Winter Rules". Our club allows bumping the ball an inch or so to better the lie. It's allowed in tournaments also. I'm not talking about moving your ball a foot or two to allow a better shot to the green but just bumping it to get the ball upon the grass. I know that is not allowed in the rule book but if it is allowed by the club then I'm going to take advantage of it. Now, if I'm playing at a manicured course with excellent grass then I don't ever do that. It's not something I do all the time.

[iacas]

What we have down here and in most places I've played is called "Winter Rules".

It's August. In Texas.

Your course must have an awful lot of bare spots if you find yourself needing to move the ball onto grass that frequently. Even Hoylake - as browned out as it was - was grassy. Typically, winter rules also only applies "in your own fairway."

[aquacooled]

nope, never.. not my style on the course I play that is right by my house it gets really wet sometimes and they have allot of area marked off that were not suppose to play but it looks fine so I go ahead and play it anyway. I mean some areas are like 3ft by 5ft.. oh ya were not allowed to play off the paths which are made of gravel.. I admit I dont play it off those paths tried twice once hit a rock and put a nice big dent in the face of my 7 iron. The other time I tried, I bladed it so bad it came out hot and went right over the green and missed some guys family jewels by inchs!!! I ran full speed over to him to say I was sorry (I did of course yell fore!!) I dont know who it scared it most him or me? so like I said I pretty much stay away from the beaten path..

[Buckswin]

The 3 guys that I play with every week have a bad habit of noodling their ball all over the place. I used to follow suit, but got serious about getting a legit handicap so I stopped.

The only time that I'll ever improve my lie is if I'm on a gravel path. It's just not worth it to me. I'll take a stroke for unplayable, but I'm not gonna screw with my irons.

[thehillgolfer]

when i'm just playing around i will...in tournaments and high school matches of course not cuz its against the rules.

but since i dont even track my score when i'm just playing around i dont think it matters... (since i'm hitting 3 balls anyways)

[gpeden]

I am with Buckswin - I used to take mulligans and the 'foot wedge', but now that i am keeping a handicap I play by the rules ("Play the ball where it lies").

I don't see the point of keeping a handicap if its not a true reflection of your skills and areas to improve? thats just me.

I have also started to play a few tournaments - and I don't want to have any bad habits that would screw that up.

But if if you just want to play for fun you can do whatever you want - thats the beauty of the game.

g

[muskegman]

I don't improve my lie. I know plenty of folks who improve their lie all the time. I just don't do it as its against the spirit of the game.

[sam4msu]

I will also improve the lie just enough to keep me from potentially damaging my club. This equates to improving my lie once every second or third round. I guess this is in theory cheating, but my clubs are worth far more to me than 1 stroke every 2 or 3 rounds.

[iacas]

I will also improve the lie just enough to keep me from potentially damaging my club. This equates to improving my lie once every second or third round. I guess this is in theory cheating, but my clubs are worth far more to me than 1 stroke every 2 or 3 rounds.

Here's a suggestion: chip out of the trouble. That way you're still playing golf and not some other game with "make it up as you go along" rules.

What penalty are you really paying by hitting into areas that you feel could damage your club? In other words, if you don't penalize yourself for hitting the ball into the crap (by chipping out, etc.), how are you going to learn not to do it? You're only cheating yourself in the end. "I might damage my club" is a lame excuse, in my opinion. It's made of metal, after all.