Rules Review: The difference between taking a stance and building a stance

The photograph above is of Matt Fitzpatrick, who was about to try to advance his ball next to an out-of-bounds fence at the 2019 Omega European Masters. While you can't take free reflief from an OB marker, it's perfectly fine to stand out of bounds to hit a ball that is in bounds. Fitz pulled this shot off, by the way (see below), but that's not what we are here to discuss.

From the looks of these photos, you might wonder why Fitzpatrick was allowed to hit a shot from his knees. After all, the definition of stance in the Rules of Golf is the "position of a player's feet and body in preparing for and making a stroke." Hitting a shot from your knees the way Fitz did hardly seems like the way golf's rules-makers intended the game to be played. So let's review what is allowed and what isn't when you step in—or kneel down—to hit a shot.

You probably know you can dig your feet into bunker sand to firm up your footing. But did you know, under Rule 8.1a, that you cannot excessively dig into soft ground to gain a firmer foundation before hitting a shot. That is considered an example of "building a stance," which falls under the general no-no of doing anything that improves the conditions affecting your next stroke.

The penalty for violating Rule 8.1 is two strokes or loss of hole in match play.

What else can get you in trouble? You can't buffer your body with a towel or something similar from things like the thorns on a rose bush or cactus before playing a shot. No pain, no gain! You also can't move a bench over to a tree to take a whack at a ball that wouldn't otherwise be reachable. (Although you can climb the tree to hit a shot. Sergio Garcia did it at the 2013 Bay Hill Invitational.)

Perhaps the most famous example of a golfer building a stance came in the 1987 Andy Williams San Diego Open. Craig Stadler had to play a shot from his knees because of a low-hanging branch. Instead of getting his pants dirty, he decided to place a towel down and kneel on it, which at the time was a violation of Rule 13-3 (now 8.1a). Interestingly, the violation was spotted by a golf legend, the late Skee Riegel, who saw a replay of it the next day. Stadler was DQ'd after Riegel phoned in. Trenham Golf History.org did a nice job retelling the story.

Getting back to the do's and don'ts. If you're in a bunker, you are permitted to dig in with your feet, but what if your ball was on the upslope? You can't create a level area with your foot—a ledge—to stand on to hit your shot. South Korea's Sun-Ju Ahn was penalized at the 2014 Ricoh Women's British Open for doing just that.

The good news is that you're perfectly fine to move loose impediments before playing a shot. Meaning, if you're ball is in pine needles and you're afraid you'll slip when making your swing, you can sweep them away from the area of your feet without being in violation of building a stance.