What about aiming the club before addressing the ball? What you need to know on both topics.
One of golf’s oldest tricks (cheats?) is to sole a club behind the ball in the rough and then ‘decide’ to use another club to hit the shot. The initial club’s weight makes the grass sit down, which in turn gives the replacement club a cleaner path into the ball.
Purposely pushing down the grass is a violation of Rule 8.1 (improving conditions affecting the stroke), but you might wonder how that rule applies to golfers who rest their club on the ground in front of the ball before moving it behind the ball to swing. Some golfers do that as a way of getting aligned with their target (setting the putter down in front of the ball, for example). Does that act improve conditions affecting the next stroke? It seems like it might, but here’s what the Rules of Golf says about the practice:
Rule 8.1b(4) explains that it’s OK to ground the club lightly directly in front of or behind the ball. “Lightly” means allowing the weight of the club to be supported by the grass, soil, sand or other material on or above the surface. “Supported” is the key word here. Pressing the club down would be a violation.
This rule came into focus at the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational. TV cameras showed Wyndham Clark settling his club down into the rough to play an approach at the 18th hole during the third round. The broadcast team and TV analysts wondered if he pushed down a little too hard and should have been penalised. Clark was exonerated by PGA Tour rules officials but not until they reviewed the incident with him and his playing partner that day, Scottie Scheffler.
One other thing to remember about this rule is that if you do improve the conditions affecting your next stroke but then decide to play a different type of shot that would not have been improved by your actions – such as chipping instead of putting – you would still be penalised under Rule 8.1 unless you can restore the conditions.
Another uncommon alignment practice is to set a clubhead down behind the ball on the target line before taking your stance. You might wonder how this plays into the idea of using a golf club or another object for aiming purposes. The answer: there is no penalty if you do that. This was clarified in the rulebook in 2025 and is differentiated from setting an object down for the purpose of aiming or taking a stance, which is a violation of Rule 10.2b(3). “Setting an object down” doesn’t mean resting the clubhead on the ground if you’re still holding it, the book says.
Rather, setting an object down means that it’s in contact with the ground but the player is not holding it. For example, if you place another club down next to your ball (or anything for that matter) to help you get aligned as you are about to hit, you would be assessed the general penalty (two strokes or loss of hole in matchplay). It’s also worth remembering that you’re still penalised even if you remove the object before hitting.
