Knock a leaf off penalty?

[iacas]

3 hours ago, Abu3baid said:

Just go back to if you disturb anything then it is an automatic penalty.. i.e. if 1 leaf falls if there are a million leaves or just a couple it is the same result.

Nobody would ever be allowed to ground their club again. Or even really touch the grass for fear that they may change the orientation of a single blade of grass.

This rule isn't just about leaves. It's 13-2, which is about improving the area of your intended stance or swing.

[SG11118]

I've always had a question about something related to this.  The golfer hits a ball into the rough under the tree, and lets say they have three options - hit towards the hole with close to a full swing, hit sideways back into the fairway with a very abbreviated 1/4 backswing, take an unplayable and drop the ball away from the tree.  In checking the swing to see if it clears for hitting a full shot toward the green, the golfer touches a leaf above his head and it falls off.  If the golfer then chooses to hit it out sideways or take an unplayable, can the golfer claim that the leaf that fell off isn't in the new chosen swingpath, and that the golfer didn't really improve his lie for the swing he ended up choosing?

[Martyn W]

1 hour ago, SG11118 said:

I've always had a question about something related to this.  The golfer hits a ball into the rough under the tree, and lets say they have three options - hit towards the hole with close to a full swing, hit sideways back into the fairway with a very abbreviated 1/4 backswing, take an unplayable and drop the ball away from the tree.  In checking the swing to see if it clears for hitting a full shot toward the green, the golfer touches a leaf above his head and it falls off.  If the golfer then chooses to hit it out sideways or take an unplayable, can the golfer claim that the leaf that fell off isn't in the new chosen swingpath, and that the golfer didn't really improve his lie for the swing he ended up choosing?

No, the penalty was incurred as soon as the original area of intended swing was improved

 

13-2/24

 

Area of Originally Intended Swing Improved by Breaking Branch; Area of Swing Finally Used Not Affected by Branch

Q.A player, intending to play in a certain direction, took a practice backswing for a stroke in that direction and broke a branch impeding his backswing. The player then decided to play in a different direction. The area of his intended swing for a stroke in this new direction was not improved by the breaking of the branch. In such circumstances, would the player incur a penalty under Rule 13-2?

A.Yes. The player was in breach of Rule 13-2 as soon as he improved the area of the originally intended swing. The penalty is not avoided if he subsequently plays in another direction, even if the breaking of the branch had no effect on the area of the swing for a stroke in the new direction.

Related Decisions:

[Rulesman]

2 hours ago, SG11118 said:

 the golfer touches a leaf above his head and it falls off.  

Did one leaf actually affect his swing path?