Ball moved by an animal? Here’s what to do
You may not have to deal with mongooses gnawing on your ball, as Tommy Fleetwood revealed when he commented on a pair pouncing on a fairway bound effort at the European Tour’s Nedbank Golf Championship, but there’s a good chance your Saturday sweep could well be interrupted by something making a beeline for your tee shot.
Whether a crow is a bit peckish, a magpie fancies feathering its nest, or a squirrel mistakes your Titleist for an oversize nut, it’s not an unusual occurrence to see your ball moved, or even taken altogether, by something in nature.
So what do you do? Well, thankfully, the Rules of Golf are here to help.
Anyone know the rule for a mongoose attack on your golf ball?😂 Got to love Sun City! #NGC2019 pic.twitter.com/Jh1czA7uSl
— Tommy Fleetwood (@TommyFleetwood1) November 14, 2019
You generally won’t have to worry about a penalty. That’s not to say, though, that there aren’t different ways of dealing with this issue so let’s go through them in turn.
If your ball is lifted or moved then you are covered by Rule 9.6. It says that ‘if it is known or virtually certain that an outside influence lifted or moved a player’s ball:
There is no penalty, and the ball must be replaced on its original spot (which if not known must be estimated). This applies whether or not the player’s ball has been found’.
This will cover most circumstances you’ll find on the course but not quite all. Say, for example, a ball that in motion hits, or comes into contact with, an animal as we saw in the case of Fleetwood.
Rule 11.1 applies. It states there will be no penalty to any player “if a player’s ball accidentally hits any person or outside influence”.
The ball must be played as it lies, except in two circumstances. If, when on the green, it accidentally hits an animal on the putting surface, the stroke doesn’t count and the ball must be replaced.
The other is when a ball, played from anywhere except the green, comes to rest against an animal. In that case, turn to Rule 11.1b and take free relief. Take a drop of one club length and no nearer the hole.
If it comes to rest against an animal on the green, place the ball on the estimated spot “right under where the ball first came to rest” on the animal.
Don’t play the ball as it lies as you’ll get a two shot penalty if you do.
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
