SAND SWEEPER Here's a 'sand on the green' question that came up last Sunday. What is the proper way to remove the sand from the putting line without being called for testing the condition of the green? -- Jim Dolliver, via Facebook These days, super-tough greenside bunkers can let a few hackers turn the green into the beach in a matter of hours. Luckily, you have some recourse. The definition of "loose impediments" clearly states that "sand and loose soil are loose impediments on the putting green, but not elsewhere." This means that, so long as you're on the putting surface, you can treat sand just like you would rocks, leaves or twigs, which is to say that you can move them without penalty. Rule 16-1a (i) does make it clear, however, that when removing a loose impediment from your line of putt, you may not press anything down into the green, and 16-1d forbids you from "roughening or scraping" the surface of the green (which refers to your question about testing the condition of the green). So, to put it more succinctly, feel free to sweep away the sand, but sweep carefully.  

• Got a Rules question? Zip it to rulesguy@golf.com CART CLIMBER Rules Guy: My home course is lined with large, prickly bushes. I hit my drive into one of them and found the ball cradled gingerly on the outside of the bush, almost begging to be swung at. The problem? It was four feet in the air. Thinking quickly, I called my buddy over in the golf cart and climbed on top. I didn't get much on my next shot, but it beat taking a drop. When my friend stopped laughing he told me there's no way what I did was legal, but I figured there's no way there's a rule against it. Is there? -- Stephen C., via e-mail While you may have felt like Sir Edmund Hillary, you're not the first man to scale a golf cart. As weird as your situation was, the Rules of Golf still have it covered, although you're going to wish they didn't. According to Decision 13-3/5, using your golf cart as a ladder is considered building a stance, which violates Rule 13-3. You should have taken a 2-stroke penalty for your mistake. Sure you've got the story to tell, but in this case you would have saved a stroke by taking the drop and skipping the Tarzan impression. MATCH-PLAY MIXUP Rules Maven: I was playing a match with a friend and he was one hole up on 18. We were both lying three when he two-putted for bogey. Thinking he had sealed the match, he then picked up my ball. He was stunned when I reminded him that I still had a chance to win the hole and halve the match. Neither of us knew what to do, so I just replaced my ball and played on. Needless to say, I missed the putt, but I think I should have won the hole by default. -- Ed Gonnel, Tenafly, N.J. I'm going to give your buddy the benefit of the doubt and assume his mistake was one of poor math and not poor sportsmanship. While picking up your ball is not the same as conceding your next stroke, your friend also doesn't get off free and clear. According to Decision 2-4/4, your buddy incurred a penalty of one stroke for touching your ball and violating Rule 18-3b. That means you had not one but two chances to win that last hole and halve the match. If your buddy is fair, he'll give you a rematch, and if he's smart he'll get a math tutor. OUT ON A LIMB Rules Reporter: I was playing with my father when my ball landed under a small tree. As I took my backswing, my club swung up and snapped a branch behind me. I stopped my swing quickly and assessed the damage. I then took my shot (which I admit was easier without the branch). My dad said I had to take a penalty for improving my lie, but I disagreed, since I broke it during my swing. Who was right? -- Bruce C., via e-mail Sometimes it's not what you do on the course that gets you in trouble, it's what you don't do. By stopping your club mid-swing, you did not actually make a stroke at the ball. Consequently, according to Decision 13-2/14.5, breaking the branch constituted improving the area of your intended swing, a violation of Rule 13-2 and a two-stroke penalty. If you had completed your swing, breaking the branch would have simply been a result of your stroke and you would not have been penalized.  

LONG-TERM MARK What are the proper/allowable ways to mark a golf ball if play is suspended, and what to do if you cannot find your mark when play is resumed? -- Mark A. Komives, via Facebook If for some reason play is suspended you are always allowed to pick up your ball as long as you properly mark it. You can use regular markers, a tee, or anything suitable to your liking. Personally, I use a diamond-encrusted Spanish escudo, given to me by King Juan Carlos. But if you've got a quarter, that usually works pretty well too -- as long as it's easy to spot when you get back from the delay. According to Rule 6-8, if your marker has moved due to wind, or water, a ball must be placed on the spot where the marker originally was. If you can't determine where the ball marker was, simply estimate the closest spot possible to the original lie and place your ball.  

WHO: Phil Mickelson WHAT: 30' 7" par putt WHERE: 202-yard par-3 12th hole at Pebble Beach WHEN: Final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am In the final round, Mickelson was paired alongside Tiger Woods. When they teed off at 12, Mickelson was leading the field by a couple of shots and he was five ahead of Woods. Mickelson hit a poor tee shot that landed 26 yards short of the hole and in thick rough, while Woods hit into a greenside bunker. After Mickelson hit a weak pitch to 30' 7" from the hole, Woods holed his bunker shot for a birdie. Suddenly, Woods, who had played poorly to that point, had life, and it looked like Woods would cut his deficit to three strokes. But Mickelson holed his putt and took the wind right out of Tiger's sails. Mickelson's putt was the type of in-your-face reply that Woods used to routinely deliver to opponents. Three holes later, at 15, Mickelson holed another par bomb (38'3"), and he cruised to victory from there. On both par putts, Mickelson wasn't trying to make them. He just wanted to start the putts on line and put good rolls on them. Holing the putts was a bonus. THE DRILL: When working on long putts, most golfers make the same big mistake. They drop three balls 30 feet from a hole, hit the balls and miss all three putts. Then they go to another hole and do the same thing. Soon, they've missed nine straight putts and their confidence is gone. They've done nothing but reinforce failure. Here's a good way to practice long putting and develop feel. Take 10 balls and stand on the fringe of a putting green. Then walk 10 feet into the green and put a tee in the ground. Now walk another 20 feet in so you're 30 feet from the edge of the green. Put down the balls, and try to putt all 10 balls so they stop between the tee and the edge of the green, but putt with the following pattern. Hit the first ball as close to the edge of the green as possible. Hit the second ball just short of the first ball. Then hit the third ball just short of the second ball. Follow that pattern for all 10 balls, making sure that the 10th ball stops between the tee and the edge of the green. If any ball goes past the ball at which you're aiming, you have to start over. Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher Mike Adams teaches at the Broken Sound Club in Boca Raton, Fla.  

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a yearlong series featuring golf icon Johnny Miller and his takes on the best swing moves from golf’s greatest legends. To kick it off, we asked Miller to talk about a legend with whom he’s intimately familiar—himself. Two things made my swing unique compared with what you see now on the PGA Tour: a weak grip, with the Vs formed by my thumbs and forefingers on both hands pointing at my left shoulder, and a reverse-C finish, with my back arched, lower body leaning toward the target and my head back. The reverse C wasn’t just for looks—shifting my upper body back on my downswing allowed me to keep the clubface square to the target line longer, and to move it straight down the line through the impact zone instead of cutting across. The reverse C is one of the reasons I was so accurate, especially with my irons. Guys like Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Mike Reid and Calvin Peete—four of the straightest hitters ever to lace up a pair of spikes—also had reverse-C finishes. In 1986, Calvin hit every fairway at the Memorial Tournament all four days, and then did the same thing the very next year. You don’t see the reverse C as much anymore—today’s players like to be more on top of the ball at impact and to create speed by rotating hard around their center. To me, that shrinks the amount of time the clubface is actually square to the target line to a fraction of a millisecond. Sure, it’s a faster swing, but it has a smaller margin for error, and those that use it often need three caddies to find the ball. A reverse C happens naturally—you can’t force it. It results from solid swing mechanics, which you can get by working in front of a mirror. All the guys I know with great swings do mirror work. As a kid, I’d copy my favorite player’s technique out of books and magazines position by position, going from the printed page to the mirror at all the key points. If you’re struggling with your motion, this is the best—and only, really—way to get the moves you need to hit the ball farther and straighter. This article first appeared in the March 2012 issue of Golf Magazine. The February issue is on newsstands and the tablet version is available for free for magazine subscribers on iPad, Kindle Fire, Nook Tablet, Nook Color and Samsung Galaxy Tab. Learn more    

SPRINKLER SITUATION I'm in a fairway - when all of a sudden a sprinkler goes off. Can I take free relief from the sudden flood of recycled wash water? Or do I have to sit under the pesticide spray unless I want a penalty? --Jason Cherpak, via Facebook First of all, recycled wash water and pesticide spray are two completely different things. I’m concerned about that course you are playing on. But I digress, if your ball currently lies in a puddle of water from the sprinkler after math it is called casual water. According to Rule 25-1, you may then lift the ball and drop it within one club-length, no closer to the hole, from the nearest point of relief without penalty. Whether or not you choose to stay in the pesticide spray is up to you.

WHO: Kyle Stanley WHAT: A 50-yard pitch from under a cactus to the green WHERE: 332-yard par-4 17th hole at TPC Scottsdale WHEN: Final round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open To come back from the emotional roller coaster of two weeks ago, when Stanley blew a huge final-round lead, is spectacular. But last week, he had a big advantage: he was playing from behind, which put him in an aggressive -- rather than a defensive -- mode of thinking. He showed that at 17. Stanley was aggressive off the tee by hitting driver rather than laying up on the short par 4 with water down the left side. After his tee shot landed under a cactus bush, Stanley could have chipped out and then pitched to the green. Instead, he boldly played a pitch from an awkward stance and with a hooded clubface. The aggressive play could've backfired with a whiff, a skull or another bad outcome. But Stanley was playing to win. He executed the shot perfectly, nipping the ball so it flew over a bunker, landed a bit short of the green and then rolled onto the green 22 feet from the hole. Stanley two-putted for a par. Stanley is a player to watch. Not many guys could lose so badly one week and come back the very next week with a victory. The turnaround shows a quality of character than is very unusual on the PGA Tour.   THE DRILL: My favorite way to practice and learn recovery shots is to play one-club golf. Last week, I played an entire round with only a 6-iron. Another option is to hit driver off the tees and then play with one club (I prefer a 6-iron) for all other shots, including putts. Playing with one club teaches you to be creative. You learn how to hit different shots and how to manipulate a single club to create a wide variety of outcomes. You're forced to be imaginative and to develop a sense of adaptability with your clubs. Practicing like that prepares you for spots like Stanley found at 17. You may not have practiced shots from the exact situation you're in, but you'll be able to create a shot. Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher Mitchell Spearman teaches at Isleworth Country Club in Orlando and at Doral Arrowwood in Rye Brook, N.Y.  

I recently had the pleasure of working with two very good friends who are also very talented PGA Tour players: D.A. Weibring and his son, Matt. During this fun coaching session I asked Matt to hit a number of 14-yard pitch shots with his eyes closed. D.A. chuckled. “Matt,” he said, “there are a lot of instruction theories out there, but only from Pelz will you hear that you need a 14-yard pitch shot.” I mention this because it comes straight from my research, which shows that what was true for D.A. when I first started working with him years ago is true for young Matt today. Research shows that the most frequent leave distance after missing a green is about 6 to 8 yards from the edge of the putting surface. In many cases golfers must carry this shot an additional 6 to 8 yards onto the green before letting the ball roll to the hole. This happens over a wide handicap range, including professionals. Hence my interest in Matt’s 14-yard pitch technique. I believe pros need to “own” this shot to the extent that they can hit it with their eyes closed. Try it using an X-wedge (64°), and stop the club when the shaft gets parallel to the ground in your backswing. Then accelerate down and through the ball and stop your motion when the shaft is straight up and down in your follow-through. This club/swing combination generates a 14-yard carry, a soft trajectory and ample backspin. You can use a lob, sand or pitching wedge with this swing to fly the ball a little lower, carry it a little shorter and roll it out a little longer. But get it right, because playing solid 14-yard pitches is a sure way to lower your handicap—and you’ll use it in every round you play. This article first appeared in the March 2012 issue of Golf Magazine. The March issue is on newsstands and the tablet version is available for free for magazine subscribers on iPad, Kindle Fire, Nook Tablet, Nook Color and Samsung Galaxy Tab. Learn more

LOST AND FOUND Rules Guy, I topped my tee shot into the bank above a water hazard not far from the tee box. It was close enough for me to look for the ball, but after a couple of minutes I got nervous that we'd be holding up traffic, so I declared my ball lost, scampered back up to the tees and hit again. As I drove my golf cart towards my second drive, I spotted my first ball on the far bank, in the hazard but playable. I had no idea what to do: I definitely found my ball before the five minute "time limit," but I had already declared it lost and played a ball that I had no intention of being provisional. Could I have played the first ball? SHOULD I have played it? I've never been so confused on the golf course! -- Tim Becker, Hoboken, NJ This question hits upon one of the most misunderstood Rules of Golf: You can't actually "declare" a ball as lost; it's either lost or it isn't. According to Decision 21-1/1, your second ball was not actually considered in play, as you found your original ball before taking a second stroke at the provisional. This, however, does not mean that you were forced to play your first shot. You were, of course, more than within your rights to go back to the tee and take a penalty of stroke and distance. So, as it turns out, whichever choice you made would have been legal. The only thing not to do was stand around looking confused.  

WHO: Kyle Stanley WHAT: A 65-yard wedge into the water WHEN: Final round of the 2012 Farmers Insurance Open WHERE: 570-yard par-5 18th hole at Torrey Pines   Golf is easy looking in the rearview mirror. Still, it's hard to understand how Stanley couldn't make a double-bogey at 18, which would've given him the title. It took several huge mistakes for Stanley to make an eight, which dropped him into a playoff that he lost to Brandt Snedeker. Stanley's mistakes included laying up with his second shot instead of blasting his second shot at or over the green; hitting a wedge approach with so much spin that it sucked back off the green and into the water; and finally, three-putting. The wedge into the water might be the shot that Stanley most regrets, because hitting a no-spin wedge from 65 yards is easy.   THE DRILL: To take the spin off a wedge, you've got to radically decrease the angle of attack into the ball by using what I call a "sweepy" instead of a steep release. You also need to move the ball a little further back than normal in your stance and shift your weight a little more to the target side than you would do with a standard shot. To practice no-spin wedges, take practice swings by holding the club with only your right hand. Hold the club at the bottom of the grip so that your right hand (for a right-hander) touches both the grip and the shaft; the butt end of the grip should be near the middle of your right forearm. Make a little backswing and sweep through impact. Just after impact, the butt end of the shaft should hit your right forearm and the shaft should align down your arm. The club and your right arm should remain in that synchronized position for the first half of the follow-through. I like doing this drill without a ball, but you can hit shots using the same technique. Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher Brian Manzella teaches at English Turn Golf and Country Club in New Orleans.