Friday, November 16, 2012

Ask Linda #558-Wind blows ball off tee


Linda, this happened today:

Ball blew off the tee on downswing - managed to scuff it a few yards. Is there a penalty for the ball moving after address? Realize no penalty for hitting moving ball in these circumstances.

Thanks,
Lulu

Dear Lulu,

A ball is not in play until a player makes a stroke at it from the teeing ground [Definition of “Ball in Play”]. Regardless of what caused the ball to move prior to your tee shot, there is no penalty. If you had been able to check your downswing, or you had managed to deliberately swing over the ball, you could have re-teed and re-started the whole process with a clean slate.

Linda
Copyright © 2012 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.