Sometimes this can be a problem.
Ball moved by natural forces - Rule 9.3
If natural forces (such as wind or water) cause a player's stationary ball to move, there is no penalty and the ball must be played from its new position. However, if a player's ball moves on the green after the player has already picked up and put the ball back, there is an exception that requires the ball to be put back in its original place (if not known, estimated). This applies regardless of what caused the movement (including forces of nature).
But in one tournament, the player's ball came to rest on the green. The player walked to his ball, placing his ball marker directly behind his ball. The weather was rather poor - rain and also strong gusts of wind. As the player was about to pick up his ball, a gust of wind came and moved his ball.
Now the player's question: What to do? A referee was called:
Basically, if the player has marked his ball on the green and he has picked up his ball and put it back to the original spot and the ball moves after that it doesn't matter by what - including natural forces - so the ball must be put back.
But in this case, the ball has not yet been picked up by the player, so the ball must be played from the new spot. If the player were to return the ball to the original spot and play the returned ball, he would receive the basic penalty for playing from the wrong spot.
In the meantime, if you would like to know more about the Rules of Golf, please contact me directly at hans.kienesberger@golf.at.
Also important is exception 2: to rule 9.3
The new exception 2 stipulates that a ball must be put back if it rolls into another area of the court after it has been dropped, placed or put back. This also applies if the ball comes to rest out of bounds.
It would certainly be unfairly harsh if, for example, a ball that had been dropped from the ground in repair first came to rest on the fairway, then rolled into the out-of-bounds area and was counted as a lost ball.
