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hi all
need a rule help out last sunday it was a bit windy got to hole 2 and i wanted to check which way the wind was so in between walking from 1st green and 2nd tee ripped up some grass threw it up and the wind took it to my right then i was told this was breaking a rule becourse the grass was green and alive

can anyone clear this up for me

haha whoever told you that is an idiot...The only way that could ever be against the rule is if you pull the grass from like directly behind of infront of your ball in which you would be improving your lie...that is the only way that you could possibly break a rule....

I have never heard of any such rule, if there were I think one would be breaking the rules by walking on the grass!!! Looked at the USGA's rules and couldn't find anything:
http://www.usga.org/playing/rules/rules.html

What ... if the grass were brown and dead it would've been ok ? Someone is either seriously misguided or is pulling your leg. You can't pull grass out to improve your lie or stance but that's about it, I think.

hi
thanks for that thought it a bit strange at the time

Or taking a divot or allowing the ball to impact the green or walking the course when it's soggy...

Next time throw mud in the air which hopefully hits the guy who invented his own rule.

That is NOT a rule of golf against that. You can't break anything growing to improve your lie. This includes practice swings.

Golf would be an awful tough game if one could incur penalties when they do not have a ball in play - since you were walking between the first green and second tee, you could have taken a chain saw to a tree there w/o penalty (at least w/o penalty strokes). So, yes, you can test wind direction with grass taken from anywhere that doesn't influence your play or area of play, during any part of a hole.

This begs another question - how can one get a penalty when they have no ball in play? The only way I can readily think of is giving / asking advice improperly; for instance, player A asking opponent player B what club he just used on a par 3 tee before player A hits. Can anyone name other ways to be penalized when their ball is not in play?

^^^^ Carrying too many clubs?

Nope, your not in violation of that rule until you tee off on the first hole.

How about if you hole out, then improve your competitors line of putt? Or after holing out you touch the green to show your opponent his line?

(Why you would do these I have no idea!)

Does this mean if I accidentally take a divot on my practice swing, it's a penalty?

nope, not as long as it does not improve your lie.

Not true. You can take a divot with a pratice swing but it's poor pratice. true about over hanging branches etc