Rules · Tip
When Wind or Water Moves Your Ball
Part of our rules programs. Build a program with it
Under Rule 9.3, if wind or water moves your ball at rest, there's no penalty. Carry on from wherever it settles. There are two exceptions. On the green, if you'd already marked, lifted and replaced it, put it back on its spot, whatever moved it. And if you'd dropped, placed or replaced the ball and nature carries it into another part of the course or past the boundary, put it back on its spot.
Step by step
- Wind moved it? No penalty.
- Usually play it from its new spot.
- On the green, replace it if you'd already replaced it.
- Replace it if it moves into another area after you put it in play.
- Estimate the spot if unsure.
Why it works
Rule 9.3 treats a ball moved by wind or water as nobody's fault, so there is no penalty and you play it from where it comes to rest. The exceptions protect a ball you have just put back in play. If you had already marked, lifted and replaced it on the green, or had dropped, placed or replaced it elsewhere, the spot you chose is the one the rules want kept. Putting it back on that spot stops nature from changing a position you set up correctly.
Common mistakes
- Putting the ball back on its original spot when wind moved it during normal play.Play it from its new spot, because the replace rule only applies in the two exceptions.
- Leaving a ball where it settled on the green after you had already replaced it.Put it back on its spot, whatever moved it, and then continue.
- Playing on when a dropped or placed ball rolls into another area or out of bounds.Replace it on its spot, because you had already put it in play there.
How you'll know it's working
- You can say in one sentence whether the ball was in play from normal play or had just been dropped, placed or replaced.
- You take no penalty and make no extra marking steps when wind moves a ball in normal play.
- You replace the ball on the green after wind moves it, but only if you had already replaced it.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: Practise with only the first case, where wind moves a ball in normal play, and the answer is always to play it from its new spot.
Harder: Work through mixed cases, such as a dropped ball that rolls into a bunker or a replaced ball on a sloped green, and estimate the original spot when you did not see exactly where it lay.
Common questions
Is there a penalty if the wind moves my golf ball?
No. Under Rule 9.3, wind moving a ball at rest carries no penalty, and you usually play it from where it settles.
What if the wind moves my ball after I replace it on the green?
You put it back on its original spot, whatever moved it, and you take no penalty. If you are not sure of the spot, estimate it.
