Rule 13 states the club may be grounded but only lightly. The general ruling is no more weight than one would in playing the shot. Very vague area. Always has been.
I was just reading this rule and there are some interesting things.
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.
now the second part,
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 (Rule 11-1) 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).
If she would have taken her stance and placed her club behind the ball with both hands as in addressing the ball and this this several times ok, but she did not do this, she started to address the ball with just her right hand on the club sorta took a stance but she didnt place her left hand on the club and she did pat down the grass with her club. Thats improving your lie.