What happens if wind or water moves my ball?

No penalty — you play the ball from where it comes to rest after wind or water moves it. The only times you replace it are if you had already lifted and replaced it on the putting green, or if a dropped or placed ball rolls into a different area of the course or out of bounds.

The basic rule

When wind, water, or any other natural force moves your ball while it's at rest, you don't add a stroke to your score. You simply walk up to the new spot and play from there. No dropping, no replacing, no discussion — the ball's new location is now your lie. This applies anywhere on the course: fairway, rough, bunker, penalty area, even the putting green — unless one of the two exceptions below kicks in.

When you must replace the ball

Exception 1: On the putting green, if you had already marked, lifted, and replaced your ball — maybe to clean it or get it out of someone's line — and then wind or water moves it, you put it back on the original spot. It doesn't matter what caused the movement; once you've replaced it, that spot owns the ball. Exception 2: Anywhere on the course, if you've just dropped, placed, or replaced a ball (taking relief, for example) and natural forces move it so it comes to rest in a different area of the course or out of bounds, you replace it on the spot where you dropped or placed it. If that spot isn't known, you estimate it.

Play from the wrong place? That's a penalty

If you ignore the exceptions and play from the new spot when you should have replaced — or replace when you should have played from the new spot — you've played from a wrong place. That's the general penalty: two strokes in stroke play, loss of hole in match play. So pause, check which situation you're in, then act.

Exceptions that change the answer

• Ball on the putting green that you had already lifted and replaced → Replace it on the original spot (estimate if unsure), no matter what moved it — wind, water, gravity, anything.
• Ball you just dropped, placed, or replaced moves by natural forces into a different area of the course or out of bounds → Replace it on the spot where you dropped or placed it (estimate if unsure).

Frequently asked questions

My ball moved in the fairway after I addressed it — wind, I think. What do I do?

Play it from the new spot. No penalty. Natural forces moved it, you didn't.

I marked and replaced my ball on the green, then a gust of wind rolled it six feet. Do I play from there?

No. Because you had already replaced it, you must put it back on the original spot. No penalty.

I took relief and dropped in the rough. The ball rolled into a penalty area. Now what?

Replace the ball where it first struck the ground after the drop. That's Exception 2 — it moved into a different area of the course.

What if I'm not sure whether wind or my foot moved the ball?

If it's virtually certain natural forces moved it, play from the new spot. If you might have caused it, that's Rule 9.4 — one-stroke penalty and replace.

Does this rule apply in a bunker or penalty area too?

Yes. Anywhere on the course. Wind moves your ball in a bunker? Play it from the new lie. Same in a penalty area.