GUIDES · BETSLIP DOCTOR
If wind or water moves a resting golf ball, should it be played where it stops or put back?
Usually, play the ball from its new spot with no penalty. Rule 9.3 treats wind and water as natural forces. It makes two important exceptions: replace a ball on the putting green that moves after it was lifted and replaced, and replace a ball put into play by dropping, placing or replacing if natural forces move it into another area of the course or out of bounds.
For Golfers or viewers interpreting a ball that moves after it has come to rest. · Updated
A resting ball usually stays where nature moves it
Rule 9.3 applies when natural forces such as wind or water move a ball at rest. The player gets no penalty and normally plays from the new spot. The fact that the ball moved on a putting green does not, by itself, trigger the first exception; the ball must already have been lifted and replaced on that spot.
The status of the ball just before it moved matters. A ball still in its ordinary position follows the general rule. A ball recently put back into play or replaced on the green may fall within an exception.
Two situations require the ball to be replaced
First, if a ball on the putting green moves after the player has already lifted and replaced it on that spot, replace it on the original spot. This applies no matter what caused the movement, including wind or water.
Second, if the player put the original ball or another ball into play by dropping, placing or replacing it, and natural forces move it to another area of the course or out of bounds, replace it on the spot where it was put into play. The location before the movement and how the ball was put into play distinguish this exception from the usual play-it-where-it-stops rule.
- Ordinary ball at rest moved by wind or water: play from the new spot.
- Ball lifted and replaced on the green, then moved: replace it.
- Dropped, placed or replaced ball moved by natural forces to another course area or out of bounds: replace it.
Three fictional ball movements
A ball at rest in the fairway rolls a short distance when wind rises. The player has no penalty and plays it from the new spot. On a separate hole, a player marks, lifts and replaces a ball on the green; wind then moves it. The player replaces it on the original spot. In a third case, a player drops a relief ball in the general area and water carries it into another area of the course. Because the ball was put into play by dropping and natural forces moved it into another area, it must be replaced on the original drop spot.
Related questions
Does every ball moved on a putting green have to be replaced?
No. Rule 9.3's first exception applies when the player already lifted and replaced the ball on the green before it moved. Otherwise, a ball moved by natural forces is generally played from its new spot.
Is there a penalty when wind moves a ball at rest?
Rule 9.3 says there is no penalty for a ball moved by natural forces. Follow the new-spot rule or the applicable replacement exception.