What is the penalty for hitting the wrong ball in golf?
I · Intermediate · The ball in play · 8 of 16A player must finish each hole with the ball played from the tee, unless it is lost, out of bounds or a Rule allows a change. Making a stroke at a wrong ball, such as another player's, costs two strokes in stroke play or the hole in match play.
How it works
A wrong ball is any ball that is not the player's ball in play: another player's ball, a stray ball or the player's own ball once it is lost, out of bounds or replaced by another.
- Stroke play: two penalty strokes. The strokes made with the wrong ball do not count, and the player must go back and play the right ball. Failing to correct it before starting the next hole means disqualification.
- Match play: loss of the hole. If the two players hit each other's balls, the first to do so loses the hole. If nobody knows who was first, there is no penalty and the hole is finished with the balls swapped.
- The player whose ball was wrongly hit puts a ball back on the original spot, without penalty.
Changing balls:
- Between holes: always allowed.
- Taking relief or playing again from the previous spot: any ball may be used.
- Putting a ball back on its spot, for example after marking it on the green: it must be the same ball.
- A cut or cracked ball may be replaced, if the damage can be seen and happened on that hole. A scratch or scuffed paint is not enough. The player may lift the ball to look, after marking it and without cleaning it.
- A ball that breaks into pieces: the stroke does not count and is replayed with no penalty.
- Playing a ball that was changed when it should not have been costs one penalty stroke, and the hole is finished with that ball.
Tricky cases
Can a player swap to a new ball on the green before putting?
No. A ball lifted on the green must be replaced with the same ball. Putting with a different one costs one penalty stroke.
Two players in stroke play hit each other's balls. What happens?
Each gets two penalty strokes, and each must put their own ball back on its original spot and play on with it.
Can a damaged ball be replaced during a hole?
It depends on the damage. A ball that is visibly cut or cracked may be. One that is only scratched or scraped may not.
Why the rule exists
A hole is one ball's journey from tee to hole. The identifying mark and the wrong-ball penalty are what keep each player's journey their own.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Rules of Golf | As above | G 6.3; G 4.2 |
| Stableford, maximum score, par/bogey | An uncorrected wrong ball costs only the hole | G 21.1c; G 21.2c; G 21.3c |
From the rule book
The R&A and USGA Rules of Golf, Rules 4.2, 6.3, 14.2a and 14.3a, and the Definition of wrong ball. Effective January 2023. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: Rules of Golf (PDF).