Dear Readers,
Ask Linda #478
talked about a player taking a practice swing and accidentally moving his ball in
play. I received three responses, two of which suggested I remind everyone
that a ball is not in play until a player has intentionally made a
stroke from the teeing ground. Therefore, a practice swing on the teeing ground
that moves the ball does not result in a penalty – the player simply retrieves
his ball and re-tees. I thought I had addressed this issue before, but it
certainly never hurts to review.
Here are two of the
responses:
• Except on
the tee!
• Linda: If this had
happened on the teeing ground when a player is preparing to hit his tee shot,
there is NO penalty because the ball is not yet in play, and the player was not
intending to hit the ball...Correct? [Yes, this is correct.]
The third response
brought up a related issue. Let’s take a look:
Hi Linda,
Can you please confirm if another option is for the player
to play the ball as it lies after mistakenly hitting it on his practice swing
and not take a 1 shot penalty, please?
Lou
Dear Lou,
The very first Rule states that “the Game of Golf consists
of playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into the hole by a stroke or successive strokes in
accordance with the Rules” [Rule 1-1].
Each time you advance the ball, it must be by means of a
stroke. The Definition of “stroke” tells you that your swing must be
intentional.
A practice swing that accidentally moves a ball is not a
stroke – there is no intention to move the ball. The player has unintentionally
caused his ball to move. The penalty is one stroke, and the ball must be
replaced [Rule 18-2a]. There is no option to continue play with a ball that was
accidentally moved. If the ball is not replaced, the penalty is two strokes.
Linda
Copyright © 2012 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
