What generally happens when you accidentally stand on a golf ball is that you lose your balance slightly and, if you’ve stood on it firmly, you may feel a little pain. If you stand on it awkwardly and are very unlucky you might even turn an ankle.
Joking aside though. What do you do when you accidentally stand on a golf ball? Well, it depends on whose ball it is and in what circumstances you have trodden on it.
When Searching
Let’s start with accidentally standing on a golf ball when searching for it. It’s the most common way you’re likely to stand on a golf ball. Say your ball has headed into thick rough and you’ve started wandering around trying to locate it. You stand on something, look down and find it is indeed your ball.
In those circumstances there would be no penalty. Under Rule 7.4, there’s no penalty if the ball is accidentally moved by the player or anyone else when trying to find and identify it.
What you must do next is replace the ball on its original spot, under Rule 14.2. If you don’t quite know exactly what the original spot would have been, you must estimate it. If you’ve compressed your ball into the ground, you should try to recreate the situation it would have been in originally.
If you accidentally stand on a playing partner or opponent’s ball when searching for it, again there is no penalty and the ball should be replaced on its original spot.
Important to note – If you “the player” cause your ball to move before the search has begun, so say you stand on it in an area you didn’t expect it to be and you’re not yet looking, you get one penalty stroke. You’d have to be honest on that one.
Basically though, there is only no penalty for standing on a ball when you are actually searching for it. What about if you're not...?
When The ball is at rest
You’re waiting for the green to clear with your ball in the fairway and have shifted your position slightly to check the yardage. As you move back towards your bag, with eyes still on the players ahead, you lose your bearings and accidentally stand on your ball. What happens now?
Well, unfortunately in this instance you’re going to receive a penalty shot. Rule 9.4 covers – Ball Lifted or Moved by Player. It applies when it is known, or virtually certain the player’s actions caused the ball to move.
If you’ve trodden on your golf ball accidentally, there’s no chance that it won’t have moved. You might try and argue it hasn’t using Rule 9.2 – Deciding Whether Ball Moved… But, let’s face it, if you stand on a golf ball it’s going to move one way or another.
If the player causes the ball to move, the player gets one penalty stroke, and the ball must be replaced on its original spot using Rule 14.2.
There’s an exception though. If you were to stand on your ball on the putting green, there would be no penalty. Rule 13.1d(1) says there is no penalty for accidentally causing the ball to move on the putting green. The ball must simply be replaced using Rule 14.2
In stroke play, if you accidentally stand on a playing partner’s ball anywhere on the golf course, there is no penalty, and the ball must be replaced using Rule 14.2.
But, in match play, if you stand on your opponent’s ball (anywhere except on the putting green) you will receive a one-shot penalty and your opponent’s ball must be replaced.
So, what happens if you accidentally stand on a golf ball? If you’re searching for it, there’s no penalty. If it’s yours and you’re not searching for it – one shot penalty. If it’s not yours and you’re not searching for it in stroke play – no penalty. If it’s your opponent’s in match play and you’re not searching for it (and it’s not on the green) – one shot penalty. In all instances, the ball that has been trodden on must be replaced on its original spot.
