You are playing hole #4. Your ball is in the fairway about 30 yards short of the green. You drive up, grab your sand wedge and putter and walk over to your ball. After planning your shot you take a practice swing. Now, you have no intention of striking your ball but your brain doesn’t understand that. Unaccountably, during your practice swing, your hands just reach out and your club strikes the ball, moving it sideways a couple of feet.
What would you do?
A. Since we have Winter Rules and are allowed to move our balls in the fairway you pretend you just moved it to that spot on purpose and you play it from there.
B. You replace your ball and take a one stroke penalty for moving your ball.
B is correct.
There is a decision in the Rules of Golf that addresses this specific problem.
18-2a/20 Ball in Play Moved Accidentally by Practice Swing
Q. A player makes a practice swing and accidentally moves his ball in play with his club. Has he made a stroke?
A. No. He had no intention of moving the ball — see Definition of “Stroke.”
However, he incurs a penalty stroke under Rule 18-2a for moving his ball in play, and the ball must be replaced.
If you fail to replace your ball, that penalty becomes 2 strokes.
Our Winter Rules allow you to mark, lift, clean and place your ball within one club length of where it lies. At Beech Mountain we often roll our balls into place. But the player in our scenario was obviously not doing that. So (A) above is not correct.
REMEMBER: If by accident you cause your ball in play to move, be sure to replace it. Then take a one stroke penalty.
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