Foot Wedge
A foot wedge is golf slang for using your foot to kick or nudge the ball into a better position. It is against the Rules of Golf and counts as cheating in any round played by the rules.
What is a foot wedge?
There is no such club as a foot wedge. The phrase is a joke, one of golf’s oldest, describing the moment a player quietly boots the ball out of a divot, away from a tree, or onto a friendlier patch of grass when they think nobody is looking. The “wedge” part borrows from the real scoring clubs golfers use around the green; the “foot” part gives away the trick.
It belongs to a small family of tongue-in-cheek terms. A hand wedge is picking the ball up and tossing it somewhere better. A mouth wedge is the player who talks a far better game than they actually play. Older golfers sometimes reach for the vintage versions, foot mashie or foot niblick, named after clubs that predate the modern wedge.
Golfers usually reach for the foot wedge for one of two reasons: to escape a lie that looks hopeless, or to keep the group moving instead of hacking away in the trees. That second motive is why the tactic has a strange sort of affection attached to it, even among players who would never admit to using one.
Is a foot wedge legal?
No. Golf’s founding principle is that you play the ball as it lies, and moving it with your foot breaks that principle directly. Two rules cover it. Rule 9.1 requires the ball to be played from where it comes to rest, and Rule 8.1a prohibits improving the conditions affecting your stroke, which includes the lie of the ball and the area of your intended swing. Kicking the ball does both at once.
The penalty is not trivial. Under the USGA and R&A Rules of Golf, improving your lie this way brings the general penalty: two strokes in stroke play, or loss of hole in match play. There is a related trap, too. According to Golf Digest’s rules column, Rule 1.3c means you can be penalised if you knowingly let a playing partner or caddie improve your lie on your behalf, so waving off a friendly kick is not a loophole.
Even the act of striking is defined narrowly. Rule 10.1a states that a player must fairly strike the ball with the head of the club, with only momentary contact, and must not push, scrape, or scoop it. A shoe sole qualifies as none of those things.
Casual rounds versus competition
Context decides how seriously a foot wedge is taken. Among a group of friends with nothing on the line, a small “bump” to escape a bad lie is common and often shrugged off, especially in autumn and winter when wet or patchy turf makes for miserable lies. Some groups even formalise it into a side game called Foot Wedges, agreeing in advance on a fixed number of kicks each player may use per round, usually only to get out of trouble rather than to advance the ball freely.
There is a legitimate version of this instinct, too. When course conditions are poor, a committee can put preferred lies, sometimes called winter rules, into effect. That local rule lets players lift, clean, and place the ball within a set distance, and unlike a foot wedge it is entirely within the rules.
The tolerance vanishes the moment a score counts. In a tournament, a wager, or any round submitted for handicap purposes, a foot wedge is straightforward cheating, and doing it secretly is the fastest way to lose the trust of the people you play with.
Foot wedge versus hand wedge versus mouth wedge
The three terms get mixed up because they share the same joking format, but each describes something different.
| Term | What the player does | Against the rules? |
|---|---|---|
| Foot wedge | Kicks or nudges the ball to a better spot with a foot | Yes, general penalty if a score counts |
| Hand wedge | Picks the ball up and throws or places it somewhere better | Yes, unless taking a legitimate drop |
| Mouth wedge | Talks up their game far beyond their actual ability | No, just irritating |
Only the mouth wedge is harmless. The other two move the ball by illegal means, and the distinction between them is simply which body part does the moving.
The other “foot wedge”
Confusingly, “foot wedge” is also the name of a real, legal training aid. It is a small angled block a player places under one foot during practice to feel proper footwork and weight transfer through the swing. PGA teaching professionals have used it as a coaching tool. If a golfer mentions buying a foot wedge or using one on the range, this training device is almost certainly what they mean, not the ball-kicking trick.
Related Golf Terms
- Looper — Slang for a caddie.
- Reload — Slang for hitting another ball after the first is likely lost.
- Mud ball — A ball caked with mud that flies unpredictably.
- Sticks — Slang for golf clubs collectively.
- Air mail — Slang for flying a shot well over the intended target or green.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is using a foot wedge cheating?
In any round played by the rules, yes. In a purely social round where everyone agrees the rules are relaxed, most golfers treat it as harmless fun rather than cheating.
What is the penalty for a foot wedge?
Two strokes in stroke play or loss of the hole in match play, under the general penalty for improving your lie.
Why is it called a foot wedge?
It plays on the names of real wedge clubs, swapping the clubhead for a shoe. The joke is that the “shot” is played with the foot.
Can you use a foot wedge in a handicap round?
No. Any round submitted for handicap must follow the Rules of Golf, so a foot wedge would make the score invalid.
Sources
- United States Golf Association — The Rules of Golf (Rules 8.1, 9.1, 10.1, General Penalty). Accessed July 2026.
https://www.usga.org/rules/rules-and-clarifications/rules-and-clarifications.html - Golf Digest — “Rules of Golf Review: Can I be penalized if someone else improves my lie?” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/rules-of-golf-review-am-i-penalized-if-someone-else-improves-my-lie - LiveAbout (Brent Kelley) — “What Is the ‘Foot Wedge’ In Golf?” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.liveabout.com/what-is-the-foot-wedge-1564148 - Golf Compendium — “Explaining the ‘Foot Wedge’ in Golf” and “The ‘Foot Wedges’ Golf Game.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.golfcompendium.com/2022/06/foot-wedge-golf.html - GolfLink — “Foot Wedge: Why Golfers Should Kick the Toxic Tactic.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.golflink.com/lifestyle/foot-wedge - All Square Golf — “Foot Wedge, Glossary of Golf Terms.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.allsquaregolf.com/golf-terms/foot-wedge
