Ball moving after stroke has started

[goldenbear]

Hi everyone,

Strange incident happened to one of my regular playing partners at the weekend. He was in the rough and grounded his club to take his shot. He then swung back and hit the ball but then after he had taken his shot said he was sure the ball had moved just before he reached the top of his backswing. Is there a penalty for this as my mate had no time to back off and consult us about it as he was halfway through his swing?

Would be interested to know if anyone knows what happens in this situation..

Thanks

 

[MashieNiblick]

Covered by Rule 18-2(b) - Ball Moving After Address

"If a player's ball in play moves after he has addressed it (other than as a result of a stroke), the player is deemed to have moved the ball and incurs a penalty of one stroke.

The ball must be replaced, unless the movement of the ball occurs after the player has begun the stroke or the backward movement of the club for the stroke and the stroke is made

Exception: If it is known or virtually certain that the player did not cause his ball to move, Rule 18-2b does not apply."

So unless it is certain that it was moved by something else (e.g. the wind) there is a one stroke penalty. As the ball moved after the backswing was started and the player continued with the stroke, the ball doesn't have to be replaced and there is no additional penalty for playing a moving ball (Rule 14-5 - Playing Moving Ball - exception).

 

[Slab]

Side note connected to this scenario is that how the ball motion is described/defined is important too

To have moved then the ball must have changed its position
If it oscillates but doesn't change position then it didn't move