Dear Alex,
The Rules of Golf are fairly complex on this issue, so let's "do the numbers" in our analysis.
The Definitions of the Rules define "move" as follows:
Move or Moved
A ball is deemed to have "moved" if it leaves its position and comes to rest in any other place.
The basic Rule of stroke bars hitting a ball when it is in motion.
Rule 14. Striking the Ball
Definitions
14-5. Playing Moving Ball
A player must not make a stroke at his ball while it is moving.
Exceptions:
á Ball falling off tee - Rule 11-3.
á Striking the ball more than once - Rule 14-4.
á Ball moving in water - Rule 14-6.
When the ball begins to move only after the player has begun the stroke or the backward movement of his club for the stroke, he incurs no penalty under this Rule for playing a moving ball, but he is not exempt from any penalty under the following Rules:
á Ball at rest moved by player - Rule 18-2a.
á Ball at rest moving after address - Rule 18-2b.
Rule 18 provides further guidance about balls in motion. Rule 18-2a is about a ball that moves as a result of a player's actions (1 stroke penalty plus replacement unless ball moves while the stroke is in progress and the stroke is completed). Rule 18-2b deems the player to have caused the ball to move if it moves after he has addressed the ball.
Rule 18-2b:
b. Ball Moving After Address
If a player's ball in play moves after he has addressed it (other than as a result of a stroke), the player is deemed to have moved the ball and incurs a penalty of one stroke. The ball must be replaced, unless the movement of the ball occurs after the player has begun the stroke or the backward movement of the club for the stroke and the stroke is made.
The key terms are "moves" and "addressed".
MOVES: It is not self-evident that an "oscillation" is a "movement" of the ball under the Rules. The implicit meaning of "moves" in golf is something like "changes location on the ground so that replacement from the new location to the old is appropriate. The ball's "location" on the ground, as a matter of fact, is defined by the point of contact between the bottom of the ball and the ground. A ball that "oscillates" is one that "rocks in place" without the bottom point changing. In my view, a ball that merely "oscillates" in place is not a ball that "moves". However, the definition of "moves" in the Rule implicit in contrast to the term "rest" suggests that the Rules are ambiguous about this and at times define "moves" as "change position or location on the ground" and at times as "a state not at rest". The Rule about a ball moving in a water hazard is unclear about this:
14-6. Ball Moving in Water
When a ball is moving in water in a water hazard, the player may, without penalty, make a stroke, but he must not delay making his stroke in order to allow the wind or current to improve the position of the ball.
Running water will usually "move" the ball from one location to another, not simply "shake" the ball in place, so this Rule appears to contemplate the running water of the hazard moving the ball sometimes into a better location and sometimes into a location that is not better, and this doesn't prevent the golfer from making his stroke, so long as the golfer does not deliberately delay making the stroke to allow the movement to improve his ball's location. This suggests a definition of "moves" that means "changes location with respect to the ground" and not a mere oscillation in place.
This reading is consistent with this Decision about a ball "moving" in water:
14-6/1 Ball Moves in Water in Water Hazard After Address
Q. A ball was at rest in shallow, rapidly-running water in a water hazard. After the player had carefully entered the water, walked to the ball and addressed it, the ball moved, presumably due to the current. What is the ruling?
A. There is no penalty, and the player must play the ball from its new position. Rule 14-6 overrides Rule 18-2b (Ball Moving After Address) in such a case.
When a ball is in water and it is not clear whether the playerÕs actions caused the ball to move, he should be given the benefit of the doubt and no penalty should be applied. However, if the playerÕs actions clearly caused the ball to move, he would be subject to a penalty stroke under Rule 18-2a and required to replace the ball. For example, if a player were to jump into the water close to the ball and in so doing create a splash that moved the ball, he would be subject to penalty under Rule 18-2a.
The ball in this Decision "moves" from one position to "its new position", so this implicit definition means "changed location" and does not mean "merely oscillates in place".
The following Decision illustrates that an "oscillating" ball doe snot change position, but that pressing an oscillating ball down into the green so it stops oscillating is still prohibited because it changes the "lie" of the ball:
18-2a/6 Oscillating Ball Pressed into Surface of Putting Green
Q. A ball lying on the putting green was oscillating due to wind. The player firmly pressed the ball into the surface of the green and the ball stopped oscillating. The player then holed out. Was the player in breach of the Rules?
A. Yes. The player incurred a penalty stroke under Rule 18-2a when he moved his ball by pressing on it. Since the original lie of the ball was altered when the ball was firmly pressed down, the player was obliged to proceed under Rule 20-3b. Since he did not do so, he lost the hole in match play and incurred a total penalty of two strokes in stroke play Ñ see penalty statement under Rule 18.
WHEN DOES THE BALL MOVE?
If the ball moves after the stroke is started, then this is a two-part issue: Did the golfer CAUSE the ball to move, or if not, had the golfer ADDRESSED the ball (in which case he is deemed to have caused the ball to move)?
ADDRESSED
The Definitions define "addressing" as follows:
Addressing the Ball
A player has "addressed the ball" when he has taken his stance and has also grounded his club, except that in a hazard a player has addressed the ball when he has taken his stance.
Stance
Taking the "stance" consists in a player placing his feet in position for and preparatory to making a stroke.
So, what was happening at the British Open was wind either causing the ball to merely oscillate in place or to move to a new position. Golfers who took a stance but who did not address the ball by not touching the ground with their club were trying to allow for the situation where the ball was "moved" by the wind and they did not cause it and were not deemed to have caused it and simply had to wait for the ball to come tgo rest without penalty. The trouble is not hitting the ball while it is oscillating. The trouble is hitting the ball that moves thru fault of the golfer from a position other than its original position. That's because the real MAIN Rule is 13-1:
13-1. General
The ball must be played as it lies, except as otherwise provided in the Rules.
(Ball at rest moved - see Rule 18.)
"As it lies" means the position on the course where it came to rest after the preceding stroke, unless thereafter moved by something other than an "outside agency", in which case the new position is where the ball "lies". Wind is something other than an "outside agency". Definitions:
An outside agency includes a referee, a marker, an observer and a forecaddie. Neither wind nor water is an outside agency.
If the ball "moves" after the stroke starts and the golfer stops the stroke without hitting the ball, should he then replace the ball? If the ball moves after the player starts the stroke EVEN IF HE HAS NOT GROUNDED HIS CLUB BEFOREHAND, he is not playing the ball where it lies, since he is playing the ball from its new position. HOWEVER, the Rules of Golf have an apparent conflict between Rule 13-1 and Rule 14-5 such that a ball moved by the wind from its original position of rest to a new position of rest does not require replacement of the ball in order to "play the ball as it lies".
14-5/1 Ball Moving During Backswing Struck While Still Moving
Q. A playerÕs ball starts moving during his backswing and he strikes the ball while it is still moving. What is the ruling?
A. There is no penalty under Rule 14-5 because the ball began to move after the player had begun his backswing. However, if the player had caused the ball to move or had addressed it, he incurred a penalty stroke Ñ Rule 18-2a or -2b.
Similarly, playing a ball while moving is allowed without penalty if the movement starts only after the golfer starts the stroke without grounding the club. This Decision allows a golfer to stroke a moving ball so long as a) the ball moves after he starts his stroke, b) he did not cause the ball to move, c) he had not addressed the ball by grounding his club so as to be deemed to have caused the movement, and d) he does not stop the stroke but continues and hits the ball. Apparently, the sense of this decision is that once the stroke is started, the golfer is on automatic pilot and could not reasonably be expected to stop the stroke in mid-motion, especially since the moving may not occur until a very brief moment before impact.
The only time a golfer would really have to "wait" for the wind to stop causing a ball to oscillate is when the golfer grounds his club after taking his stance. A golfer who grounds the club cannot take the chance that oscillation will evolve into full-fledged movement during the stroke, and will have to wait for a "window of opportunity" to start and finish the stroke when the wind is calm.
Incidentally, if the golfer has grounded his club and then starts the stroke, and then the ball "moves," the golfer can stop the stroke and replace the ball but it doesn't matter for the penalty. The penalty is automatic, whether the golfer stops and replaces the ball or finishes the stroke, since he grounded the club. Likewise, if the golfer has grounded his club and has not begun the stroke, but the ball moves, he incurs a penalty stroke. THEN if he does not replace the ball before making the stroke, he incurs another penalty.
If the golfer has NOT grounded his club, and the wind moves the ball before the stroke is started, the player does not have to replace the ball. In fact, if he does replace the ball when he had not grounded his club, he incurs two penalty strokes. There is a RARE occasion in golf when the ball moves, the player replaces the ball, and then the argument arises whether the golfer grounded his club or merely rested it touching the grass and not the ground, so the penalty is merely one stroke instead of two, with the golfer arguing he DID ground his club.
18-1/12 Ball Replaced and at Rest Is Thereafter Moved by Wind
Q. A player replaces his ball on the putting green and the ball is at rest. Before the player addresses the ball, a sudden gust of wind blows the ball farther from the hole. The player plays the ball from its new position. Is that correct?
A. Yes. Wind is not an outside agency Ñ see Definition of ÒOutside Agency.Ó Accordingly, Rule 18-1 does not apply.
To the same effect:
18-2b/1 Ball Moves After Stance Taken But Before Address
Q. Outside a hazard, the player took his stance but did not ground his club. The ball moved. What is the ruling?
A. As the player had not addressed the ball, he did not incur a penalty under Rule 18-2b (see Definition of ÒAddressing the BallÓ).
If, however, the player caused the ball to move, he was subject to penalty and the ball should have been replaced Ñ Rule 18-2a.
The same is provided for under Rule 20-3:
If a ball when placed comes to rest on the spot on which it is placed, and it subsequently moves, there is no penalty and the ball must be played as it lies, unless the provisions of any other Rule apply.
If the wind moves the ball when the player has not grounded the club, and the player replaces it, he incurs TWO penalty strokes:
18-2a/7 Ball Moved by Wind Replaced
Q. In stroke play, a competitorÕs ball was moved by wind. Since wind is not an outside agency (see Definition of ÒOutside AgencyÓ), he should have played it from where it came to rest, but he replaced it. What is the ruling?
A. The competitor incurred one penalty stroke under Rule 18-2a, and, before playing his next stroke, he should have replaced the ball on the spot where it came to rest after being moved by the wind. If he did not do so, he incurred a total penalty of two strokes Ñ see penalty statement under Rule 18.
So, in SUMMARY:
PUTTER NOT GROUNDED: If the wind moves the ball, the golfer should wait until the ball comes to rest at its new position and then play from there. If he is in the midst of making the stroke, he can choose whether to stop of continue, without penalty. If he stops, he should wait for the ball to come to rest and play from the new position. If he replaces the ball, he incurs two penalty strokes.
PUTTER GROUNDED: If he has grounded the putter and then the wind moves the ball before the stroke is started, the player incurs one penalty stroke (as he is deemed to have caused the movement) and must replace the ball before continuing play. If the ball moves while the player is in the midst of the stroke, he need not stop the stroke but he still incurs a penalty stroke. If the wind moves the ball to a new position and after it comes to rest the player then makes the stroke, the player incurs two penalty strokes.
So what about the situation where the ball is perched precariously on the top of a slope and if the ball moves in the slightest, it will roll all the way off the green? In this case, the golfer will want to NOT ground the putter and also will want to NOT WAIT for the ball to stop oscillating since the likely "new position" after movement is much worse than the present position.
In general, when the wind threatens to "move" the ball, the golfer should not ground his putter but he also should not wait for the ball to stop oscillating unless he is hoping the wind moves the ball to a better position. Even that delay in the hope of a better ball position likely violates the Rule.
As a VERY technical point, the Rules appear to mean "grounded" as "club sole resting on the ground" and not merely "touching the grass but not resting on the ground". See this Decision, implying as much:
18-2a/30 Ball Moves After Player Takes Several Practice Swings Near Ball and Touches Grass Behind Ball
Q. A player took several practice swings about one foot from his ball which was lying in light rough, and his club came in contact with the ground. He then took his stance, touched grass behind the ball with the clubhead but did not ground the club. At that point the ball moved.
The player claimed that no penalty was incurred because he had not addressed the ball. However, the Committee judged that the practice swings and the touching of the grass behind the ball caused the ball to move, and therefore the player incurred a penalty stroke under Rule
18-2a. Was the Committee correct?
A. It is a question of fact whether the player caused his ball to move and thus incurred a penalty under Rule 18-2a. Because of the practice swings and touching of the grass, the weight of evidence is against the player and therefore the CommitteeÕs decision was correct.
Pretty tricky, eh?
Cheers!
Geoff Mangum
Putting Coach and Theorist
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