Major Change: Ball Moved During SearchGolf's New Rules

Golf's New Rules: Major Changes

New Rule: Under Rule 7.4, if a player accidentally moves his or her ball while searching for it:

• The player gets no penalty for causing it to move, and
• The ball is always replaced; if the exact spot is not known, the player will replace the ball on the estimated original spot (including on, under or against any attached natural or man-made objects which the ball had been at rest under or against).

Reasons for Change:

A fundamental principle of golf is to play the ball as it lies; so the Rules should help the player to find his or her ball and play it from the spot where it was at rest.

Players often need to probe in grass, bushes, leaves and other conditions to look for a hidden ball, and such reasonable acts create an inherent risk of moving the ball.

The previous Rules allowed both an opponent in match play, and other players in stroke play, to help search for the player’s ball without risk of penalty if they accidentally moved the player’s ball. Outside persons such as spectators were allowed to help search as well.

It was inconsistent to encourage everyone but the player or his or her caddie (or partner) to look for the ball, and this created an odd incentive for the player to hold back and let others search.