Purpose: Rule 8 covers a central principle of the game: "play the course as you find it". When your ball comes to rest, you normally have to accept the conditions affecting the stroke and not improve them before playing the ball. However, you may take certain reasonable actions even if they improve those conditions, and there are limited circumstances where conditions may be restored without penalty after they have been improved or worsened.
8
Course Played as It Is Found
8.1
Your Actions That Improve Conditions Affecting Your Stroke
This Rule restricts what you may do to improve any of the "conditions affecting your stroke" (see Definition for the list of things that are protected).
a
Actions That Are Not Allowed
Except in the limited ways allowed in Rules 8.1b, c and d, you must not take any of these actions if they improve the conditions affecting your stroke:
Move, bend or break any growing or attached natural object, or immovable obstruction, integral object or boundary object, or tee-marker for the teeing area when playing a ball from that teeing area.
Move a loose impediment or movable obstruction into position (such as to build a stance).
Alter the surface of the ground.
Remove or press down sand or loose soil.
Remove dew, frost or water.
Penalty for Breach of Rule 8.1a: General Penalty.
b
Actions That Are Allowed
In preparing for or making a stroke, you may take any of these actions and there is no penalty even if doing so improves the conditions affecting your stroke:
Fairly search for your ball by taking reasonable actions to find and identify it.
Take reasonable actions to remove loose impediments and movable obstructions.
Take reasonable actions to mark the spot of a ball and to lift and replace your ball.
Ground your club lightly right in front of or right behind your ball (but you cannot do this in a bunker).
Firmly place your feet in taking a stance, including a reasonable amount of digging in with your feet in sand or loose soil.
Fairly take your stance by taking reasonable actions to get to your ball and take your stance. But when doing so you are not entitled to a normal stance or swing and you must use the least intrusive course of action to deal with the particular situation.
Make a stroke or the backswing for a stroke which is then made. But when your ball is in a bunker, touching the sand in the bunker in taking your backswing is not allowed.
On the putting green, remove sand and loose soil and repair damage.
Move a natural object to see if it is loose. But if the object is found to be growing or attached, it must stay attached and be returned as nearly as possible to its original position.
See Full RulesFor information on permitted actions on the teeing area and in a bunker.
c
Avoiding Penalty by Restoring Conditions Improved in Breach of Rule 8.1a
There are limited instances when you may avoid the penalty by restoring the original conditions before making a stroke. The determination as to whether the improvement has been eliminated will be made by the Committee.See Full RulesFor more information on avoiding penalty by restoring improved conditions.
d
Restoring Conditions Worsened After Ball Came to Rest
If the conditions affecting your stroke are worsened by another player, an animal or an artificial object after your ball has come to rest, you have the ability to restore the original conditions as near as possible. However, you are not allowed to restore the conditions if they were worsened by you, a natural object or by natural forces.See Full RulesFor more information on restoring conditions worsened after your ball came to rest.
8.2
Deliberate Actions to Alter Other Physical Conditions to Affect Your Ball at Rest or Stroke
See Full RulesFor more information on deliberate actions taken to alter other physical conditions to affect your own ball, including the Exception that allows actions to care for the course.
8.3
Deliberate Actions to Alter Physical Conditions to Affect Another Player’s Ball at Rest or Stroke
See Full RulesFor information on deliberate actions taken to alter other physical conditions to affect another player's ball at rest or the stroke to be made.
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Purpose: Rule 5 covers how to play a round - such as where and when you may practise on the course before or during your round, when your round starts...
Purpose: Rule 6 covers how to play a hole - such as the specific Rules for teeing off to start a hole, the requirement to use the same ball for an ent...
Purpose: Rule 10 covers how to prepare for and make a stroke, including advice and other help you may get from others (including your caddie). The und...
Purpose: Rule 11 covers what to do if your ball in motion hits a person, animal, equipment or anything else on the course. When this happens accidenta...
Purpose: Rule 12 is a specific Rule for bunkers, which are specially prepared areas intended to test your ability to play a ball from the sand. To mak...
Purpose: Rule 13 is a specific Rule for putting greens. Putting greens are specially prepared for playing your ball along the ground and there is a fl...
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Purpose: Rule 16 covers when and how you may take free relief by playing a ball from a different place, such as when you have interference by an abnor...
Purpose: Rule 17 is a specific Rule for penalty areas, which are bodies of water or other areas defined by the Committee where a ball is often lost or...
Purpose: Rule 18 covers taking relief under penalty of stroke and distance. When your ball is lost outside a penalty area or comes to rest out of boun...
Purpose: Rule 19 covers your relief options for an unplayable ball. This allows you to choose which option to use - normally with one penalty stroke -...
Purpose: Rule 20 covers what you should do when you have questions about the Rules during a round, including the procedures (which differ in match pla...
Purpose: Rule 21 covers four other forms of individual play, including three forms of stroke play where scoring is different than in regular stroke pl...
Purpose: Rule 22 covers Foursomes (played either in match play or stroke play), where two partners compete together as a side by alternating in making...
Purpose: Rule 23 covers Four-Ball (played either in match play or stroke play), where you and your partner compete as a side with each of you playing ...
Purpose: Rule 24 covers team competitions (played in either match play or stroke play), where multiple players or sides compete as a team with the res...