Know The Rules: Knocking Down Leaves With A Practice Swing - Not Always A Penalty
Most of us have either experienced or witnessed the process of knocking down some leaves from a nearby tree when trying to figure out if there's enough room to make a swing after hitting the ball too close to the trees in the first place.
Now we have to assume that the vast majority of golfers are aware that we can't go hacking down branches or cutting great swaths through foliage that happen to be in our backswing by means of taking several vicious hacks loosely disguised as 'practice swings'...but this writer for one has to admit he wasn't aware that causing an 'insignificant' number of leaves to come loose in that practice swing does not entail taking a penalty.
To find out just how that rule is meant to be applied, watch the following video, and make a point of reading the 'intent' of Rule 13-2 and the associated Decision 13-2/0.5 - it should help clear up what may have been a misunderstood rule by many of us.