Swing and a miss

If you swing and completely miss the ball, does that count as a stroke?

if you're trying to hit the ball, then yes.

if you take a backswing and then stop it before it hits the ball, like a batter checking his swing on a bad pitch, then no.

Whenever i whiff i always say loudly "THAT WAS A PRACTICE SWING" and then it doesn't count ;)

I always say to the poor guy, "Hey, enough of this practice stuff. Hit the ball."

It's a funny game like that....

If you swing and try to hit the ball...and miss....then it counts as a stroke....

If you make a practice swing and accidentally hit the ball....stroke

If you address the ball on the tee and knock it off the tee...not a stroke

If you address the ball while in the fairway and touch the ball and it moves....stroke

if you're on the putting green and address the ball and it moves, yet settles back into its original place (oscillation)....not a stroke...

Look it up....

Well, it's not as funny/complicated as you make it sound - you can sum up all your examples, and cover any others you can think of, with this:

- If you swing at a ball with the intent to strike it, it's a stroke.

- If you accidentally cause a ball not in play to move, no penalty.

- If you accidentally cause a ball *in* play to move, it's a one stroke penalty and the ball must replaced. (Unless it merely oscillates and returns to its original position - and that's true anywhere on the course, not just on the green - Decision 18.2).

I have always wondered about this as well.  I think I was watching ESPN and there was a pro recently who swung and whiffed!  I'm not sure whether they counted it or not, but I agree with you all, if he was trying to hit it, then it counts as a hit.  If not, then no swing.  Haha.. but when I play with my friends and they swing and miss, we NEVER count it!

http://thesandtrap.com/t/53587/did-kevin-na-balk

Not a stroke since he checked his swing.

yes! this is exactly what I was talking about.  Thanks for the link - although it has be removed.  :)

Just thought I'd point out the fine point between mikeprooo and sacm3bill.  If you accidentally knock the ball off the tee at address, it's a free re-tee.  If you accidentally move the ball in play and it changes position, then it's a stroke.  But if you jostle a ball in play at address but it remains in the same position after jostling, it's not a stroke.

I actually saw that call made in a PGA event a month or two ago.  I can't remember who it was, but he addressed the ball then went to call a penalty stroke on himself for moving the ball, but he brought the rules official over to verify and the rules official asked if the ball was in a different spot after he touched it and it hadn't moved from it's original position, so he wasn't assessed the penalty stroke.

No, no, no and no, it is NOT a stroke. If it were a stroke you would continue your play from wherever your ball ended. But as it is NOT a stroke you have to return your ball to it's original position and add one penalty to your score.

Pls. read the definition of a stroke, pls!!