Is This A Penalty ?

[Jason Smith]

ball moved on address.

[saevel25]

4 hours ago, Jason Smith said:

ball moved on address.

 

Quote

18-2/0.5

Weight of Evidence Standard for Determining Whether Player Caused His Ball to Move

When a player's ball at rest moves, the cause of the ball's movement has to be assessed. In many situations, the answer will be obvious: the player may have kicked the ball inadvertently, dropped his equipment on it, or otherwise clearly caused it to move; alternatively, the player may have taken no action near the ball and something else (such as a spectator or animal) clearly caused it to move.

In other situations, however, there may be some question as to why the ball moved - e.g., because it is less than certain that the player's actions near the ball caused it to move, or because multiple factors were present that potentially might have caused the ball to move. All relevant information must be considered and the weight of the evidence must be evaluated (Decision 34-3/9). Depending on the circumstances, the relevant considerations may include, but are not limited to:

The nature of any actions taken near the ball (e.g., movement of loose impediments, practice swings, grounding club, taking stance, etc.),

Time elapsed between such actions and the movement of the ball,

The lie of the ball before it moved (e.g., on a closely-mown area, perched on longer grass, on a surface imperfection, etc.),

The conditions of the ground near the ball (e.g., degree of slope, presence of surface irregularities, etc.), and

Wind, rain and other weather conditions.

If the weight of evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the player caused the ball to move, even though that conclusion is not free from doubt, the player incurs a one-stroke penalty under Rule 18-2 and the ball must be replaced. Otherwise, the player incurs no penalty and the ball is played as it lies unless some other Rule applies (e.g., Rule 18-1).

 

[Rulesman]

5 hours ago, Jason Smith said:

ball moved on address.

Prior to 1 January, if your ball moved after address, you were deemed to have moved it an penalised regardless. That rule has now been removed. 

 

[iacas]

5 hours ago, Rulesman said:

Prior to 1 January, if your ball moved after address, you were deemed to have moved it an penalised regardless.

Unless it had not yet been put into play, of course.

That part still remains: you can move your ball by bumping it off the tee with your driver, but you're still not penalized.

[Big C]

On 5/5/2016 at 10:14 AM, iacas said:

Unless it had not yet been put into play, of course.

That part still remains: you can move your ball by bumping it off the tee with your driver, but you're still not penalized.

Not just that, but you can actually start the process of swinging, change your mind and try to hold up your swing, fail to do so (i.e. actually make contact with the ball), and still have the ability to re-tee without penalty. In my experience, it's one of the most misunderstood rules in golf, even among serious golfers.

 

[DrvFrShow]

You can even pull up and whiff the ball as long as you don't make contact if there was no intent to hit the ball and call it a practice swing.... see Kevin Na's swing issues a few years ago.

[Martyn W]

11 hours ago, Big C said:

Not just that, but you can actually start the process of swinging, change your mind and try to hold up your swing, fail to do so (i.e. actually make contact with the ball), and still have the ability to re-tee without penalty. In my experience, it's one of the most misunderstood rules in golf, even among serious golfers.

That is not correct.

14/1.5

 

Intent to Strike Ball Ceases During Downswing; Club Not Stopped But Path of Clubhead Altered to Avoid Striking Ball

Q.A player begins his downswing with the intention of striking the ball but decides during the downswing not to strike the ball. The player is unable to stop the club before it reaches the ball, but he is able to swing intentionally over the top of the ball. Is the player deemed to have made a stroke?

A.No. The player is considered to have checked his downswing voluntarily by altering the path of his downswing and missing the ball even though the swing carried the clubhead beyond the ball.

If the player had not successfully checked his downswing (i.e., he had struck the ball), he is considered to have made a stroke.

Any doubt regarding the player's intent must be resolved against the player.

[Abu3baid]

1 hour ago, Martyn W said:

That is not correct.

14/1.5

 

Intent to Strike Ball Ceases During Downswing; Club Not Stopped But Path of Clubhead Altered to Avoid Striking Ball

Q.A player begins his downswing with the intention of striking the ball but decides during the downswing not to strike the ball. The player is unable to stop the club before it reaches the ball, but he is able to swing intentionally over the top of the ball. Is the player deemed to have made a stroke?

A.No. The player is considered to have checked his downswing voluntarily by altering the path of his downswing and missing the ball even though the swing carried the clubhead beyond the ball.

If the player had not successfully checked his downswing (i.e., he had struck the ball), he is considered to have made a stroke.

Any doubt regarding the player's intent must be resolved against the player.

Right, that's different than bumping the ball off the tee unintentially.  Nice job!

[Big C]

You're right. I was remembering a tournament ruling in favor of Paula Creamer in an identical situation to the one I described. I couldn't find anything online, other than a past thread on this site that seemed to indicate the rules official got the ruling wrong. 

Thanks for clarifying the actual rule.

[jmitri]

It depends if you're on the putting green, the tee box in play in fairway or where the ball landed on the course. I'd say if you're on the green the rules would be different from the fairway or the tee box.

[Martyn W]

8 hours ago, jmitri said:

It depends if you're on the putting green, the tee box in play in fairway or where the ball landed on the course. I'd say if you're on the green the rules would be different from the fairway or the tee box.

If the ball is in play, it makes no difference where it is - the Rule (18-2) applies everywhere. 

btw when discussing Rules it is helpful to use proper terms. It is the' teeing ground', not tee box; 'through the green', not fairway (in this context). I know this sounds pedantic, but a lot of people want to look things up, which is frustrating when searching for terms that do not appear in the index or definitions (pin, cup, sandtrap etc.)