What happens if you touch sand during the backswing?

The situation

You're playing from a buried lie or a steep bunker face. On your backswing, the club drags through the sand behind the ball before you complete the stroke.

The rule

Under Rule 12.2b(2), touching the sand with your club in the area in front of or behind your ball before the stroke (including during the backswing) is a violation — 2-stroke penalty in stroke play, loss of hole in match play. However, if the club touches sand during the backswing in an area that is not in front of or behind the ball (for example, on a steep slope where the club grazes sand on an uphill backswing far from the ball), that is generally not a violation. The restricted area is specifically the sand in the line of your stance, not all sand in the bunker.

Real example

You have a buried lie in a steep-faced bunker. You take the club back and the heel catches the sand six inches directly behind the ball. 2-stroke penalty — that's the protected area immediately behind the ball. Finish the hole, add the 2 strokes.

What to do on the course

• On very steep bunker lies, open the face and use a steeper, more vertical backswing to reduce the risk
• The penalty applies even if the contact was unintentional — what matters is where it happened, not why
• Finish the hole before correcting the score — do not replay the stroke
• In match play, the hole is lost the moment the violation occurs

Penalty

2-stroke penalty in stroke play / loss of hole in match play.