What happens if wind or an animal moves my ball while I'm getting ready to hit?

If wind or water moves your ball at rest, there is no penalty and you play it from its new spot (Rule 9.3). But if you had already lifted and replaced it on the putting green, you must replace it on the original spot. An animal moving your ball is not a natural force — that's an outside influence under Rule 9.6, and you replace it without penalty.

When wind or water moves your ball

Natural forces like wind and water are part of the game. If your ball is sitting still and a gust of wind rolls it, or water carries it, you don't add any strokes. You simply play the ball from where it comes to rest. This applies anywhere on the course — fairway, rough, bunker, penalty area — as long as the ball was at rest and you hadn't already marked, lifted, and replaced it on the green.

The putting green exception

If your ball is on the putting green and you have already marked, lifted, and replaced it, the rule changes. Once you've replaced it, the ball 'owns' that spot. If wind, water, or anything else moves it after that, you must put it back on the original spot (or your best estimate if the exact spot isn't known). This is true no matter what caused the movement — even a sudden gust or a sprinkler head.

When an animal moves your ball

Animals are not natural forces. Birds, dogs, squirrels, alligators — they're outside influences under Rule 9.6. If an animal moves your ball at rest, there's no penalty, but you must replace the ball on its original spot (estimated if needed). You don't play it from where the animal left it. This applies everywhere on the course, including the putting green, whether or not you had lifted and replaced it.

Exceptions that change the answer

• Ball on putting green moved after being lifted and replaced → Must be replaced on its original spot (estimated if unknown), no matter what caused the movement (Rule 13.1d / Rule 9.3 Exception 1).
• Ball dropped, placed, or replaced moves to another area of the course or out of bounds → Must be replaced on its original spot (estimated if unknown). Does not apply to a ball on the putting green that was replaced — that falls under Exception 1 (Rule 9.3 Exception 2).

Frequently asked questions

My ball moved after I addressed it but before I started my backswing. Is that a penalty?

No. If wind or water moved it while you were getting ready, there's no penalty under Rule 9.3. Play it from the new spot. If you accidentally moved it yourself, that's Rule 9.4 — one-stroke penalty and replace it.

A bird picked up my ball on the fairway and dropped it 20 yards away. What do I do?

That's an outside influence (Rule 9.6), not natural forces. No penalty. You must replace the ball on its original spot (estimate if you don't know exactly). You do not play it from where the bird left it.

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

No. Because you had already lifted and replaced it on the green, Exception 1 applies. You must replace the ball on its original spot on the green, even though wind moved it.

I dropped a ball in a relief area, it came to rest, then wind blew it into a penalty area. What now?

Exception 2 applies. Since the ball was dropped and came to rest, then natural forces moved it to another area (penalty area), you must replace it on the spot where it first came to rest in the relief area.

Does 'natural forces' include gravity on a slope?

Yes. If your ball is at rest on a slope and gravity eventually pulls it down, that's natural forces. No penalty, play from the new spot — unless it's on the green after you've replaced it, in which case you put it back.