complete relief

Question
A ball hit off the tee lands on against the edge of a paved cart path. I take a drop but the ball isn't dropped far enough away from the path so my stance is partially on the path. The ball is played from that lie. Is it a stroke penalty for not taking COMPLETE RELIEF?

Answer
Dear Don, thanks for the question.  The answer is YES, there is a penalty for not taking relief completely.  If the cart path was the reason that you took relief (either by virtue of the ball touching it or your stance) then you must take complete relief, (stance and ball) re-dropping as many times as necessary until you achieve complete relief.  Unfortunately I watched painfully on tv as my favorite golfer, the late Payne Stewart, suffered such consequences in a PGA Tour event.  I saw the infraction and later learned that a fan called the tour and informed the officials.  If I recall, the information was too late and Payne signed his card with an incorrect score and was therefore DQ'ed.  Thanks again for the question, good luck and remember,

Love the game,
skipper