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 in a Saturday sweep to see your ball moved – or even taken altogether – by nature.
So what do you do when an animal moves your ball, or if they just make off with it altogether? Surely you’re not facing a penalty? But where do you place it? What if your playing partners disagree?
The Rules of Golf have got a whole section on this and there are different ways of dealing with it. So let’s go through them in turn.
Ball moved by an animal: What do the rules say about an outside influence?
If your ball is lifted or moved then you are covered by Rule 9.6. It says “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 is in motion hits, or comes into contact with, an animal.
Rule 11.1 applies in that case. 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 a couple of circumstances. If it comes to rest on an animal anywhere except on the green, Rule 11.1b says you’ve got to take free relief.
Find the point under where the ball came to rest and take a drop of one club length, Just make sure it is no nearer the hole .
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If it comes to rest against an animal on the green, this time 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.
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Despite the changes to the Rules of Golf in 2019 and 2023, there are still some that leave us scratching our heads. I’ll try to help by featuring the best of your queries in this column.
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