If the Wind Moves Your Ball During a Round in Jeju: Checking the Penalty and Where to Play Next

In the R&A Definitions, natural forces are the effects of nature such as wind, water, or something happening for no apparent reason because of the effects of gravity. Under Rule 9.3, if natural forces cause a player's ball at rest to move, there is no penalty, and the ball must be played from its new spot. Even if you don't like where the ball has rolled, the principle is not to put it back where it was.

There is also a standard for deciding what moved the ball. Rule 9.2b treats the player, the opponent or an outside influence as the cause only when it is known or virtually certain that it moved the ball; otherwise, the ball is treated as having been moved by natural forces. And under Rule 9.2a, if the ball might have moved but this is not known or virtually certain, it is treated as not having moved and is played as it lies.

A ball on the putting green may be lifted and cleaned. However, the spot of the ball must be marked before it is lifted, and the ball must be replaced on its original spot (Rule 13.1b). When the wind moves a ball on the green, where it is played from is decided by whether that ball had been lifted and replaced (Rule 13.1d).

• A ball that had been lifted and replaced: replace it on the spot where it was before it moved. The same applies even when it was moved by natural forces rather than by the player, the opponent or an outside influence, and if that spot is not known, it must be estimated.
• A ball that had not been lifted and replaced: the ball is played from its new spot (see Rule 9.3).

Exception 1 to Rule 9.3 says the same. If a ball on the putting green moves after it was lifted and replaced on its original spot, it must be replaced on its original spot, whether the cause was natural forces or anything else. So even on the same green, a ball the wind rolled away before it was marked and a ball that rolled after it was replaced are dealt with differently.

A ball touched accidentally by a person rather than moved by the wind is covered separately. If the player, the opponent or another player in stroke play accidentally moves a ball or ball-marker on the putting green, there is no penalty, and the ball is replaced on its original spot or a ball-marker is placed to mark that spot (Rule 13.1d).

There is also a Rule for a ball-marker that moves before the ball is replaced. Rule 9.7a provides that if it is known or virtually certain that the ball-marker was lifted or moved in any way, including by natural forces, the ball must be replaced on its original spot or a ball-marker placed to mark that original spot. If the original spot is not known, it must be estimated.

The standard is different if the ball begins to move after you have begun the stroke or the backswing and you go on to make the stroke. Under Rule 9.1b, the ball must not be replaced, no matter what caused it to move, and it is played from where it came to rest after the stroke. On the putting green, too, the same standard applies as an exception under Rule 13.1d, and the ball is played as it lies.

A ball dropped or placed when taking relief can also be moved by the wind. Under Exception 2 to Rule 9.3, if a ball put in play by being dropped, placed or replaced is moved by natural forces and comes to rest in another area of the course or out of bounds, the ball must be replaced on its original spot. If that spot is not known, it is estimated.

Exception 2 deals with a ball that comes to rest in another area of the course or out of bounds. If that ball had been replaced on the putting green, Exception 1 is to be followed, so a ball on the green is judged by the replacement standard set out above.

If you breach Rule 9.3 or 13.1d and play from a wrong place, you get the general penalty under Rule 14.7a. In the R&A Definitions, the general penalty is loss of hole in match play or a two-stroke penalty in stroke play. If you play a ball that should have been replaced from the spot the wind moved it to, you may get this penalty, so before you putt, first check whether that ball was one you had replaced.

On windy days, agreeing on the following steps with your playing partners in advance will speed up decisions on the green.

1. Mark the spot before lifting the ball.
2. Remember the spot where the ball was replaced, together with your playing partners.
3. If the ball moves, first check whether it was a ball that had been lifted and replaced.
4. If you don't know the original spot exactly, estimate it and replace the ball.
5. If you went ahead and hit a ball that moved after you began your backswing, don't replace it; play it from where it came to rest.

If you are playing in a competition, ask the Committee or a referee about unclear situations; in a friendly round, check the wording of the Rules with your playing partners before carrying on. This article summarizes the R&A Rules of Golf and does not cover the course conditions or Local Rules of any particular golf course in Jeju.

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