Practice Swing in Putting

by Ted Housley
(Colton, CA USA)

While making a practice swing for a putt and the putter strikes the ball what is the penalty if any?

---

Ted, thank you for the question. If your putter strikes the ball while making a practice stroke you would receive a 1 stroke penalty.

This rule is found under Rule 18 "Ball at Rest Moved" and you must move the ball back to the original position before it was struck. If you fail to replace the ball back to its original position then you will receive a 2 stroke penalty.

Once a ball is put into play from the teeing ground it must not be hit during a practice swing because you will receive a 1 stroke penalty. The only time you would not receive a penalty stroke is if you accidentally knocked the ball off the tee while on the teeing ground. In this situation you would be permitted to retee the ball without penalty.

My advice to you would be careful when you take practice swings before your shot. This will save you a few headaches.

If you have any further questions concerning practice strokes in putting then feel free to fill out the comment form below.

Thanks,

Bo