Stroke play: The different consequences of hitting your ball accidentally with a practice swing

Dear North Shore Golf,
Last week I was playing a match with a guy who accidentally hit his ball off the tee with a practice swing. He quickly picked it up and put it back on the tee, saying that it wasn’t considered a stroke because the ball wasn’t “in play” yet. He then proceeded to drill his tee shot down the middle of the fairway and, of course, win the hole.
Later in the round, this same guy was in the fairway and he once again accidentally hit his ball a few feet forward with his practice swing. I asked him if he was going to take a penalty stroke this time and he said he was not because he “had no intention of moving the ball.” He then moved his ball back to where it was and hit his shot, without penalty.
Now I’m totally confused. Can you please explain when a stroke is considered a stroke and when you should be penalized if you hit your ball with a practice swing?
– B.V. Beverly, Mass.

North Shore Golf asked Don Lyons, Head Professional at Reedy Meadow at Lynnfield Centre:

Dear B.V.,

If your friend was making a practice swing, it would not count as a stroke, because the rule states that a “stroke” is “the forward movement of the club, made with the intention of striking at, and moving the ball, unless a player checks his downswing voluntarily before the club head reaches the ball.”

However, when he was in the fairway and accidentally hit his ball, the ball was considered to be “in play,” which means he would not be charged with making a stroke, but he should have incurred a one-stroke penalty for moving a ball “in play,” even though it was accidental. So he should have moved the ball back to its original spot and taken a one-stroke penalty.

When a ball is on the tee, as in your first example, it is not considered to be “in play” yet. Therefore, he was correct in this instance and he did the right thing by teeing off again and not taking a penalty.

My advice is that you ask your local golf professional for a rulebook and carry it with you on the course. If you don’t have rulebook with you on the course, wait until the end of your round, and ask the head pro on site your rules question.

Dennis Malpass, 40, is the general manager and head professional at Rangeway Golf in North Billerica. The South Portland, Maine native has been a PGA pro for seven years and previously worked as an assistant pro at Hatherly Country Club in North Scituate.