Rules of Golf: What happens if you step on your golf ball?
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You’re rooting around in the thick stuff and accidentally step on your golf ball. What happens now? Don’t panic! Here’s what the rules say…
There was a rather awkward incident at the 2025 Players Championship when Bud Cauley stepped on playing partner Lucas Glover’s ball during the final round at TPC Sawgrass.
The reason – rather humorously – was because, while walking down the 16th, the pair were gazing at Rory McIlroy’s tee shot up ahead on the iconic par-3 16th.
Now, stepping on your own or someone else’s golf ball in the middle of the fairway is a rarity, it is far more common – at both tour and club level – for it to happen in the rough, or fescue, or woodlands, or waste areas – particularly when looking for a lost ball.
Thankfully, the Rules of Golf are applied in the same way regardless of where the incident takes place…
Will you be penalized if you step on your golf ball?
First of all, in the Cauley case at Sawgrass, of course there is no penalty. Glover was able to replace his ball on its original spot and continue playing the hole without penalty.
This all falls under new laws about accidental movement of a golf ball, which was one of the many areas that received a much-needed tweak in 2019 update to the Rules of Golf.
Of course, there is still some confusion, so let’s try to clear that up for you.
Golf’s governing bodies, the R&A and USGA, are keen to stress that it is important golfers know there is still a general principle that you should play your golf ball as it lies and that you should always exercise caution around your ball as you can still be penalized if you accidentally cause it to move. However, the 2019 update has allowed for some exceptions in common instances.
The most notable of these is accidentally moving your ball while searching for it.
What does the rule say?
Rule 7.4 – ‘Ball Accidentally Moved in Trying to Find or Identify It’ – states “there is no penalty if the player’s ball is accidentally moved by the player, opponent, or anyone else while trying to find or identify it”.
It adds: “Under this Rule, ‘accidentally’ includes when the ball is moved by anyone taking reasonable actions to find the ball that were likely to reveal the ball’s location by moving it (such as by sweeping feet through long grass or shaking a tree).
“In these situations, the ball must be replaced on its original spot – which, if not known, must be estimated.
“If the ball was on, under or against any immovable obstruction, integral object, boundary object or growing or attached natural object, the ball must be replaced on its original spot on, under or against such object.
“If the ball was covered by sand, the original lie must be recreated and the ball must be replaced in that lie – but the player may leave a small part of the ball visible when doing so.”
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Why was the rule changed?
According to the USGA and R&A: “A fundamental principle of golf is to play the ball as it lies, so the Rules should help the player to find his or her ball and play it from the spot where it was at rest.
“Players often need to probe in grass, bushes, leaves and other conditions to look for a hidden ball, and such reasonable acts create an inherent risk of moving the ball.
“The previous Rules allowed both an opponent in match play, and other players in stroke play, to help search for the player’s ball without risk of penalty if they accidentally moved the player’s ball. Outside persons such as spectators were allowed to help search as well.
“It was inconsistent to encourage everyone but the player or his or her caddie (or partner) to look for the ball, and this created an odd incentive for the player to hold back and let others search.”
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Do you receive a penalty shot if you accidentally step on your golf ball?
