# Rule 11: Ball in Motion Hits Person, Animal or Object; Deliberate Actions to Affect Ball in Motion (The R&A and USGA Rules of Golf)

Golf · Rule 11: Ball in Motion Hits Person, Animal or Object; Deliberate Actions to Affect Ball in Motion · Insporta Book (https://book.insporta.app/golf/laws/rule-11-ball-in-motion-hits-person-animal-or-object-deliberate-actions-to-affect-ball-in-motion/)

A ball in motion that accidentally hits a person or object, a ball that comes to rest on a moving person, animal or object, a putt that hits something on the green, a ball deliberately deflected or stopped, and removing objects or altering conditions while a ball is moving.

## 11.111 Ball in Motion Hits Person, Animal or Object

Accidental hits, a ball at rest on a moving object, putts that hit something, deliberate deflection, and actions that affect a ball in motion.

### Test 1: Ball in motion hits something by accident

- An accidental hit brings no penalty to anyone, even if the ball hits the player, the opponent or any caddie or equipment. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1a)
- Hitting one's own equipment by accident is no longer penalised; the ball is played as it lies. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1a; Rule 11.1b(1))
- This is the one exception to the no-penalty rule: in stroke play, ball against ball with both on the green before the stroke. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1a, Exception)
- The ball-against-ball penalty applies in stroke play only; in match play there is none. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1a, Exception)
- The exception needs both balls to have been on the putting green before the stroke. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1a, Exception)
- The ball that was hit was moved by an outside influence, so it goes back on its original spot. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 9.6)
- Rule 11.1a covers any person, the player included. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1a)
- With both balls on the green before the stroke, the player who putted is penalised in stroke play. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1a, Exception)
- A stroke from off the green that hits an outside influence by accident is normally played as it lies. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1b(1))
- B putted on the green into a ball also on the green. A and D were played from off the green, and C hit the player's own foot, all without penalty. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1a)

### Test 2: Ball comes to rest on a person, animal or moving object

- A ball at rest on a moving outside influence must not be played as it lies; relief is taken from where it first came to rest. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1b(1))
- The reference point is the estimated point right under where the ball first came to rest on the person, animal or object. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1b(1))
- The relief area is one club-length, in the same area of the course and not nearer the hole. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1b(1))
- On the putting green the ball is placed on the estimated spot right under where it came to rest, not dropped. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1b(1))
- The ball came to rest on the ground, not on a moving object, so the result is accepted and it is played as it lies. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1b(1))
- A dog counts as an animal, so relief is measured from the place where it caught the ball. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1b(1))
- Relief cannot shift the ball into a different area of the course, such as from the rough onto a green. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1b(1))
- Relief starts from the spot under where the ball first came to rest, not from where the cart ends up. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1b(1))
- On the green the procedure is to place the ball, using the replacing procedures. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1b(1))
- Relief is measured from right under where the ball first came to rest in the cart, B. A is where the cart stopped, C is where the stroke was made. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1b(1))

### Test 3: A ball played from the putting green hits something

- A ball played from the green that hits a person other than the player must be replayed, without penalty. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1b(2))
- The player is one of the exceptions to the replay rule, so the ball is played as it lies. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1b(2))
- Insects are loose impediments, not animals that trigger a replay. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1b(2))
- An animal that is not a loose impediment counts, so the stroke is replayed from where it was made. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1b(2))
- A ball in motion is a movable obstruction, so a putt that hits one on the green is replayed. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Clarification 11.1b(2)/1)
- A ball-marker is one of the movable obstructions excluded from the replay rule. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1b(2))
- Not replaying brings the general penalty and the stroke counts, but it is not playing from a wrong place. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1b(2))
- The replay is played from the spot of the cancelled stroke. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1b(2); Rule 14.6)
- An insect is a loose impediment, so there is no replay. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1b(2))
- The dog (B) is an animal that is not a loose impediment. The ant (A), a ball-marker (C) and the player's own foot (D) are exceptions. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.1b(2))

### Test 4: Ball deliberately deflected or stopped

- Deliberately stopping a ball in motion is a general penalty, and the caddie's action counts as the player's. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.2b; Rule 10.3c)
- The general penalty goes to the player who deliberately deflects or stops any ball in motion. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.2b)
- Relief is taken from the estimated spot where the ball would have come to rest if not stopped. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.2c(1))
- If the ball would have come to rest out of bounds, stroke-and-distance relief applies. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.2c(1))
- Equipment deliberately positioned to stop the ball counts as deliberate stopping, and a stroke from the green is replayed. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.2a; Rule 11.2b; Rule 11.2c(2))
- Lifting a ball moving in water when taking relief under Rule 16.1 or 17 is an exception to Rule 11.2b. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.2b, Exception)
- A ball-marker or ball at rest already there before the stroke is excluded from deliberate deflection. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.2a)
- The player is penalised for the caddie's act, and the ball is played from where it would have come to rest. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.2)
- Only players are penalised under Rule 11.2b; the putt is still replayed. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.2c(2))
- The caddie puts a foot out to stop the ball (C). The tree (A), the passing spectator (B) and a ball-marker already on the green (D) are not deliberate. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.2a)

### Test 5: Removing objects or altering conditions while a ball moves

- Removing a loose impediment to affect where a ball in motion might stop is a breach of Rule 11.3. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.3)
- The breach is the deliberate action itself, even if it ends up making no difference. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.3)
- A ball at rest on the putting green is one of the exceptions in Rule 11.3. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.3, Exception)
- A player's equipment, other than a ball at rest off the green or a ball-marker, may be moved. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.3, Exception)
- Altering physical conditions with a Rule 8.1a action to affect a ball in motion breaches Rule 11.3. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.3)
- Lifting or moving a removed flagstick is one of the exceptions in Rule 11.3. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.3, Exception)
- The equipment exception does not cover a ball-marker anywhere on the course. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.3, Exception)
- A rake lying on the ground is a movable obstruction, and removing it to affect a ball in motion is a breach. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.3)
- Lifting a ball at rest on the green is allowed while another ball is moving. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.3, Exception)
- A drags a fallen branch out of the ball's path. Lifting a ball at rest on the green (B), a removed flagstick (C) and one's own bag (D) are all exceptions. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 11.3)

Sources: Rules of Golf, effective January 2023 (The R&A and USGA), Rule 11 and the Additional Clarifications (paraphrased in original wording; original questions authored from the Rules, not reproduced)

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