What happens if something else moves my ball?
No penalty if something else moves your ball — you just put it back where it was. If you can't be sure what happened and the ball is lost, you take stroke-and-distance relief.
When Rule 9.6 applies
If it's known or virtually certain that an outside influence — a person, an animal, another ball, a cart, anything that isn't you, your caddie, your partner, or your gear — lifted or moved your ball at rest, there's no penalty. You replace the ball on its original spot. If you don't know the exact spot, you estimate it using your best judgment. This applies whether you've found the ball or not.
When you're not sure what happened
If it's not known or virtually certain that an outside influence moved the ball, and the ball is lost, you don't get free relief. You have to take stroke-and-distance relief under Rule 18.2 — go back to where you last played from, add a penalty stroke, and play again. The key is 'known or virtually certain': if you're just guessing, the rule doesn't save you.
Special cases: wind, wrong ball, finding out later
Wind itself isn't an outside influence. But if wind blows something — like a plastic bag — and that thing moves your ball, the bag counts as the outside influence and Rule 9.6 applies. You can either replace the ball or take relief from the movable obstruction under Rule 15.2a. If another player plays your ball as a wrong ball, that's covered by Rule 6.3c(2), not Rule 9.6. And if you play your ball not knowing it was moved, then find out later, you didn't play from a wrong place — you didn't know at the time.
Exceptions that change the answer
- Another player plays your ball as a wrong ball → Rule 6.3c(2) applies instead of Rule 9.6
- Wind moves an outside influence (like a bag) that moves your ball → The moved object counts as the outside influence — Rule 9.6 still applies
- You play the ball not knowing it was moved, then learn it was → No penalty for playing from a wrong place because you didn't know at the time of the stroke
- Your ball was moved onto the course from out of bounds by an outside influence and you play it → You've played a wrong ball — no penalty under Rule 6.3c(1) but you must correct the mistake under Rule 18.2b
For a deeper walk-through of these edge cases — including what happens when you play a ball not knowing it was moved, or when an outside influence moves your ball from out of bounds onto the course — see What happens if something else moves my ball at rest?.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as an outside influence?
Any person, animal, object, or other ball that isn't you, your caddie, your partner, your partner's caddie, or your equipment. A spectator, a dog, a maintenance vehicle, another player's ball — all outside influences.
What if I don't know exactly where the ball was before it moved?
You use your reasonable judgment to estimate the spot where the ball came to rest before it was moved. That's the spot you replace it on. Rule 1.3b(2) backs this up — your honest best guess is good enough.
What if wind blows a plastic bag and the bag moves my ball?
Wind isn't an outside influence, but the bag is. Since the bag (an outside influence) moved your ball, Rule 9.6 applies. You can either replace the ball where it was in the bag, or take free relief from the movable obstruction under Rule 15.2a.
What if someone accidentally plays my ball thinking it's theirs?
That's a wrong ball situation under Rule 6.3c(2), not Rule 9.6. The other player gets the general penalty (two strokes in stroke play, loss of hole in match play) and must correct the mistake. You replace your ball on its original spot.
I played my ball, then found out a spectator had moved it earlier. Penalty?
No penalty for playing from a wrong place. Since you didn't know or have virtual certainty when you made the stroke, you played correctly with the information you had. Replace the ball on its original spot if it's not already there.