From Janice:

13-2 Improving Lie, Area Of Intended Stance Or Swing, Or Line Of Play

A player must not improve or allow to be improved:

• the position or lie of his ball,

• the area of his intended stance or swing,

• his line of play or a reasonable extension of that line beyond the hole, or

• the area in which he is to drop or place a ball,

by any of the following actions:

• pressing a club on the ground,

• moving, bending or breaking anything growing or fixed (including immovable obstructions and objects defining out of bounds),

• creating or eliminating irregularities of surface,

• removing or pressing down sand, loose soil, replaced divots or other cut turf placed in position, or

• removing dew, frost or water.

However, the player incurs no penalty if the action occurs:

• in grounding the club lightly when addressing the ball,

• in fairly taking his stance,

• in making a stroke or the backward movement of his club for a stroke and the stroke is made,

• in creating or eliminating irregularities of surface within the teeing ground or in removing dew, frost or water from the teeing ground, or

• on the putting green in removing sand and loose soil or in repairing damage (Rule 16-1).

Exception: Ball in hazard – see Rule 13-4.

PENALTY FOR BREACH OF RULE:

Match play – Loss of hole; Stroke play – Two strokes.

(Searching for ball – see Rule 12-1)

(Relief for ball in water hazard – see Rule 26)