T
he definition of a stroke in the Rules of Golf is a fairly simple one: “The forward movement of the club made to strike the ball.” For such a simple statement, there’s actually a lot going on here.
Take the phrase “made to strike the ball” in the definition. That suggests that the player has intent to strike the ball. The Rule goes on to say that “a stroke has not been made if the player decides during the downswing not to strike the ball and avoids doing so by deliberately stopping the clubhead before it reaches the ball or, if unable to stop, by deliberately missing the ball.”
Here are two unique examples that are not treated as making a stroke:
• You may recall Tiger Woods leading the Tour Championship many years ago and stopping the club at the halfway point of his downswing because of a distraction. A “check swing” if you will. This sudden stoppage was a clear indication that there was no intent to strike the ball.
• Another memorable moment involved Kevin Na, who was tied for the lead at a PGA Tour event. In Na’s case, he re-routed his driver on the downswing to intentionally miss the ball. A swing and a miss? Yes, but not a stroke because there was no intent to strike the ball.
Both Tiger and Kevin were able to alter their motion with intent to avoid contact. Thomas Pieters was not so fortunate in the 2022 French Open at Le Golf National. Pieters was attempting to make a lengthy birdie putt on the third hole, and as he started his forward stroke with his putter, he was distracted by a noise coming from spectators. Pieters attempted to stop his putter to avoid contact, but didn’t do so quickly enough and accidentally struck his golf ball, advancing it only a few feet.
Since Pieters (pictured) was unable to avoid contact and instead struck the ball, a stroke had been made. Pieters and the other players all assumed that because he tried to stop and the movement of the putter with no intent to strike the ball, the strike was accidental, and that Rule 13.1d(1) “No Penalty for Accidentally Causing Ball to Move (on Putting Green)” would apply.
Pieters’ group called for a referee, who unfortunately ruled that Pieters had not made a stroke and instructed him to replace the ball according to Rule 13.1d(1) and play from there without penalty, essentially cancelling the stroke. Since Pieters was proceeding under a referee’s instruction, the incorrect Ruling stood and his score with the replaced ball counted as his score for the hole. Other players pointed out this was by definition a stroke and should have been handled differently.
There are times in stroke play when the Rules require a player to cancel a stroke played not in accordance with the Rules and play another ball correctly or face a penalty of disqualification. For example, if a player makes a stroke at a wrong ball, the player must cancel that stroke and play with the right ball.
It’s rare to see a wrong ball happen at the highest level of competition, let alone twice in the same group. But that is what happened in the final round of the first event of 2025 on the PGA TOUR. Playing in the final round of The Sentry at Kapalua’s Plantation Course in Hawaii, Will Zalatoris and Cam Davis were both lying two near the front of the par-5 15th green when they mistakenly played each other’s ball. After discovering the mistake, the players returned to the spot from where their own ball was played in error (which, if not known, must be estimated), dropped a ball in the appropriate relief area and played out the hole correctly, with each player adding two strokes to their score.
The procedure in Rule 6.3c for playing a wrong ball states that the stroke made with the wrong ball, including any penalty strokes solely from playing that ball, and any more strokes before the mistake is corrected do not count. In stroke play, the player gets the general penalty (two penalty strokes) and the player must correct the mistake under the Rules by playing the right ball from the original spot. If the player does not correct the mistake before making a stroke to begin another hole, or for the final hole of the round, before returning their scorecard, the player is disqualified. Zalatoris and Davis avoided the disqualification penalty by correcting the mistake in time, and in spite of the two-stroke penalty applied to both players, they both got up and down from the correct location to save a bogey on the hole.
Ted Antonopoulos, PGA, is Senior Vice Chair of the PGA of America Rules Committee and the Honorary PGA of America Golf Professional at Mayacama Golf Club in Santa Rosa, California.
