Rules of Golf: What happens if your golf ball hits another ball?

We’ve seen some incredibly fortunate (and not-so fortunate) instances on tour – but what do you do if your golf ball hits another ball? Allow us…

There’s something strangely exhilarating when a golf ball hits another ball. Maybe it’s the thrill of seeing something that doesn’t happen too often. Maybe it’s the element of the unknown. It’s almost certainly a combination of the two.

The most high-profile incident of this nature came at the 2016 Masters, when Louis Oosthuizen’s tee shot cannoned off JB Holmes’ ball, which was at rest on the green, before finding the bottom of the cup.

More recently, Cam Davis was in contention at the 2025 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am when his pitch into the green landed smack bang on the top of Justin Rose’s ball, sending both flying off in different directions.

As you can see from the clip, Davis managed to turn dismay into delight by salvaging a birdie.

But it got us thinking: what happens if your ball hits another ball while you’re playing? Here’s what the Rules of Golf say you must do if you find yourself in this rare yet entirely possible situation…

What do you do if your golf ball hits another ball?

To the rulebook!

For the answer, we must venture to Rule 11: Ball in Motion Accidentally Hits Person, Animal or Object.

First of all, the good news. Of course, neither player will pick up a penalty. It was, after all, a complete accident. (This is not just relevant for when your golf ball hits another ball, by the way. As you can probably tell from the title name of the rule, it is also the case if your ball hits another player or their equipment, a caddie, or an animal.)

So what happens next? Well, the player who hit the shot will have to play the ball as it lies. As you can see from the Davis clip above, his ball ricochets off into the rough at the far end of the green, and that is from where he played his next shot.

As for the other player’s ball, well that is simply replaced where it was before it was struck.

But beware…

There is, however, one exception to this rule of which you need to be aware.

If your golf ball was already on the green and you play your stroke and then it hits another player’s ball, you will be handed a general penalty. (That’s loss of hole in match play, or two strokes in stroke play.)

In this instance – and this is important – you do not now play it as it lies. After you’ve picked up your two-stroke penalty, you must go back and play your next shot from the original spot. Failure to do so will result in another general penalty.

It is also worth noting that this is only the case for someone putting from on the green. If they are putting from anywhere off the green – the fairway, for example – then there is no penalty.

Here’s what the Rules of Golf say

If you want the official line, here’s the relevant section from the USGA website…

Rule 11: Ball in Motion Accidentally Hits Person, Animal or Object

Purpose of Rule: Rule 11 covers what to do if the player’s ball in motion hits a person, animal, equipment or anything else on the course. When this happens accidentally, there is no penalty and the player normally must accept the result, whether favorable or not, and play the ball from where it comes to rest. Rule 11 also restricts a player from deliberately taking actions to affect where any ball in motion might come to rest.

11.1  Ball in Motion Accidentally Hits Person or Outside Influence

a. No Penalty to Any Player

If a player’s ball in motion accidentally hits any person (including the player) or outside influence:

• There is no penalty to any player.
• This is true even if the ball hits the player, the opponent or any other player or any of their caddies or equipment.

Exception – Ball Played on Putting Green in Stroke Play: If the player’s ball in motion hits another ball at rest on the putting green and both balls were on the putting green before the stroke, the player gets the general penalty (two penalty strokes).

b. Place from Where Ball Must Be Played

(1) When Ball is Played from Anywhere Except on Putting Green. If a player’s ball in motion played from anywhere except the putting green accidentally hits any person (including the player) or outside influence (including equipment), the ball must normally be played as it lies.

(2) When Ball Is Played from Putting Green. If a player’s ball in motion played from the putting green accidentally hits the player or an outside influence, the ball must normally be played as it lies. But if it is known or virtually certain that the ball in motion hit any of the following on the putting green, the player must replay the stroke by playing the original ball or another ball from the spot where that stroke was made.

If the player replays the stroke but does so from a wrong place, they get the general penalty under Rule 14.7.

If the player does not replay the stroke they get the general penalty and the stroke counts, but the player has not played from a wrong place.