Rules · Tip
Your Ball Hits or Lands on a Person or Animal
Part of our rules programs. Build a program with it
If your moving ball hits a person or an animal by accident, Rule 11 says there's no penalty. You usually just play it where it ends up. One exception. In stroke play, if you putt from the green and hit another ball sitting on the green, you get two strokes. And if your ball, played from off the green, comes to rest on a person or animal, take relief. Drop within one club-length of the spot right under it, in the same area and not closer to the hole. On the green, place it on that spot.
Step by step
- Accidental hit: no penalty.
- Note the green-to-green exception.
- Ball stops on a person or animal? Find the spot below.
- Off the green: drop within one club-length.
- On the green: place it there.
Why it works
The rules treat a ball that is hit by a person or animal by accident as bad luck, not as a mistake you caused, so there is no penalty and you play on from where it comes to rest. A ball resting on a person or animal can't be played from there, because the spot is not stable or fair. So you get relief from the spot directly below it. The green-to-green exception exists because a putt that hits another ball on the green is a different case, and it carries a two-stroke penalty in stroke play.
Common mistakes
- You add a penalty stroke when your ball accidentally hits a person or animal.Add no penalty and play the ball from where it comes to rest.
- You forget the exception and ignore a ball on the green when you putt from the green.Before you putt, check whether another ball is on the green in your line, and ask for it to be marked and lifted if it is.
- You drop the ball where it was resting on the person or animal, or you drop closer to the hole.Find the spot directly below the ball, then drop within one club-length of it, in the same area and not nearer the hole; on the green, place it on that spot.
How you'll know it's working
- You can say out loud which of the three cases applies before you touch the ball: accidental hit, green-to-green, or resting on a person or animal.
- Your drop lands within one club-length of the spot below, in the same area, and the ball is no nearer the hole.
- On the green, you place the ball on the exact spot below where it rested and mark it first if you need to.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: Practice with a coin or a tee as the spot below, and use a club to measure one club-length from it.
Harder: Run through mixed cases in a row, such as a ball resting on a person in the rough, then one on the green, and state the correct relief for each without looking at the steps.
Common questions
Do I get a penalty if my ball hits a person or animal?
No. If it happens by accident, there is no penalty, and you usually play the ball from where it ends up.
What do I do if my ball comes to rest on a person or animal?
Find the spot directly below the ball. Off the green, drop within one club-length of that spot in the same area and not nearer the hole. On the green, place the ball on that spot.
