Manner of removing loose impediments in question

Q. The golf course I belong to has 27 holes and nine of them are surrounded by desert. This desert nine is composed of different sized rocks, dirt, decomposed granite and bushes. The group I play with spends a lot of time in the desert removing loose impediments by using a tee, pencil or their feet. In the process of removing the loose impediments I feel they are improving their lie and sometimes removing more than just loose impediments. What constitutes a loose impediment and how are you allowed to remove it? — Bill Anderson

A. Bill, this is a good question and I see this all the time in the groups I play with. The definition of loose impediments is natural objects, including stones, leaves, twigs, branches, dung, worms, insects and the like, and the casts and heaps made by them. This is provided these things are not fixed or growing, solidly embedded or adhering to the ball. The most important thing to remember is sand and loose soil are not loose impediments unless they are on the putting green.

When players are using a tee to dig out rocks, a pencil to brush away small rocks and the dirt or sand surrounding them or using their feet to clear a path behind the ball, it would be a violation of the rules of golf. I would have to think that the rocks would have been solidly embedded if it takes a tee to dig them out; the pencil could be removing dirt and loose soil along with the small rocks and the clearing of a path behind the ball would be improving the lie of the ball or area of intended swing.

In the Rules of Golf, loose impediments may be removed by any means, however, you may not remove sand or loose soil. So the question is when does the decomposed granite become sand or loose soil? A stone that is solidly embedded cannot be picked up with ease. When there is doubt as to whether a stone is solidly embedded or not, it should not be removed.

When there is a doubt whether you are removing sand or loose soil along with small pebbles, they should not be removed or at least you should be careful of the method you use to remove them. The picking up rather than the flicking away of stones or pebbles would be the preferred method to use in order to avoid the appearance of wrongdoing.

The thing to remember here is that, under the Rules of Golf, it says you may remove loose impediments except when both the loose impediment and the ball lie in or touch the same hazard. The rules do not tell you the method you may or may not use to remove a loose impediment.