When playing in his prime, Tiger Woods was famous for being able to abandon a shot, even when he had started his downswing. He had enough self-control and physical strength to stop the clubhead halfway down when he felt something wasn’t quite right.
That’s permitted within the Rules. In the definitions of the Rules, it says that a stroke has not been made if a player decides to stop during the downswing and is able to do so by deliberately stopping the clubhead before it reaches the ball.
If you do that successfully, a stroke has not been made. But us amateur golfers don’t have the physical prowess and mental quickness of Tiger Woods. What happens if we are unable to stop ourselves before the ball but manage to deliberately miss the ball by swinging either to one side or above it.
Well, if you’ve done so deliberately then again, you haven’t made a stroke according to the definitions. Those definitions go on to say that a stroke has not been made by the player if they are unable to stop but deliberately miss the ball.
A player’s score for the hole is the number of strokes they take on that hole – all strokes made and any penalty strokes added together. If you deliberately miss the ball, you haven’t made a stroke so that “swing” wouldn’t count for your score.
An accidental miss
It’s a little different if you swing and miss accidentally. A stroke is defined as – “The forward movement of the club made to strike the ball.”
If you swing at the club with every intention of hitting it (i.e. you don’t pull out of the shot or deliberately avoid it) and you to miss it, it does count a stroke.
If you stand on the tee with a driver, take a wild swipe at it and miss the ball completely with your first effort, you are then going to be playing your second shot from the same spot.
Players have to show a degree of integrity when it comes to making a stroke at the ball then and be honest as to whether they have missed it on purpose or by accident.
If you’ve missed it on purpose because, perhaps you’ve noticed someone walking into your eye line or someone has warned you of a danger during your swing, then you are not deemed to have made a stroke. But if you’ve had a go at hitting it, you have and that’s a shot added to your score.
Be honest – Did you try to hit it? If so – Yes, it counts as a stroke if you fail to make contact with the ball.
