Golf — Rule 6.3
The wrong ball and a wrong substitution are not the same.
Both mistakes can involve striking a ball that was not used from the tee, but their legal status is different. A wrong ball is not the player's ball in play. A substituted ball has been put into play in place of the original—even when the Rules did not permit the substitution.
Quick ruling: under the R&A and USGA 2023 Rules of Golf, a stroke at a wrong ball brings the general penalty and, in stroke play, must be corrected. A ball substituted when substitution was not allowed becomes the ball in play; making a stroke at it normally brings one penalty stroke, and the player continues with it.
Decision path
Ask which ball was in play before the stroke
- Identify the player's ball in play immediately before the questioned action.
- Ask whether the player intended another ball to replace it in play.
- Identify the Rule, if any, that allowed substitution, dropping, placing, or replay from the previous spot.
- If the struck ball never became the player's ball in play, apply the wrong-ball rule.
- If it was substituted into play without authority, apply the incorrect-substitution rule.
- Check match play versus stroke play and whether correction is required before the next hole.
Wrong ball
It belongs to a different legal sequence
A wrong ball can be another competitor's ball, an abandoned original ball, a stray practice ball, or another ball that is not the player's ball in play, provisional ball, or authorised second ball.
The physical markings do not determine legal status by themselves. Two identical balls can have different status because of the strokes and procedures that put one—not the other—into play.
Substituted ball
It replaces the original as the ball in play
Under Rule 6.3b, a player substitutes another ball by putting it into play in place of the original. Once substituted, the original is no longer in play, even if substitution was not allowed or the replacement was dropped, placed, or replaced using an incorrect procedure.
Rule 14.5 may allow the player to correct the mistake before making a stroke. If not corrected and the player strikes the incorrectly substituted ball, it remains the ball in play.
When allowed
Relief commonly permits another ball
A player may normally use the original or another ball when taking relief by dropping or placing under Rule 14.3, and when playing again from where the previous stroke was made under Rule 14.6.
By contrast, when a Rule requires a ball to be replaced on its original spot, Rule 14.2a normally requires the original ball. Limited exceptions apply when it cannot be recovered quickly through no deliberate act, is cut or cracked, play resumes after suspension, or another player played it as a wrong ball.
Wrong substitution
One penalty stroke, then continue
Rule 6.3b(3) gives one penalty stroke when the player makes a stroke at an incorrectly substituted ball. The player then completes the hole with that ball.
This differs sharply from wrong-ball procedure. The substituted ball is already the player's ball in play, so the stroke counts. A separate wrong-place or procedural breach can affect the applicable penalty under the Rules' combined-breach principles.
Wrong ball penalty
General penalty and correction
In match play, a stroke at a wrong ball brings the general penalty: loss of hole. If both opponents play each other's balls, the first to do so loses the hole; if the order cannot be established, there is no penalty and they finish with the exchanged balls.
In stroke play, the player receives two penalty strokes and must correct by continuing with the original ball as it lies or by taking valid relief. Strokes at the wrong ball do not count.
Failure to correct
Stroke play can end in disqualification
In stroke play, correction must occur before the player makes a stroke to start another hole or, on the final hole, before the scorecard is returned. Failure to correct by that deadline results in disqualification.
Penalties incurred solely from playing the wrong ball are normally disregarded with the non-counting strokes, but a penalty that could also apply to the actual ball in play can still count.
Original found
A substituted ball can end the original's status
If a player properly or improperly puts another ball into play under stroke and distance, the original is no longer in play. Finding it before the three-minute search time ends does not revive it.
Playing that original after substitution would be playing a wrong ball. This is why status must be established before choosing between two balls found on the course.
Another player
Replace the ball they played
If it is known or virtually certain that another player played the player's ball as a wrong ball, Rule 6.3c(2) requires the player to replace the original or another ball on the original spot, estimated if necessary.
The innocent player does not chase the wrongly played ball's new location. The other player's mistake does not change the spot from which the owner resumes play.
Worked comparison
Two white balls, opposite outcomes
- Player hits a nearby competitor's ball: wrong ball; general penalty and stroke-play correction.
- Player lifts a ball that must be replaced but puts down a new one: incorrect substitution; if struck before correction, normally one penalty stroke and continue with it.
- Player takes penalty-area relief with a new ball: substitution is allowed, so the new ball becomes the ball in play without a substitution penalty.
Prevention
Identification marks solve only part of the problem
Rule 6.3a recommends putting an identifying mark on the ball. Players should also announce provisional status clearly and track every drop, placement, and substitution.
Recognition answers “whose ball is this?” A ruling record answers the separate question “which ball is legally in play?” Both are needed when several similar balls occupy the same area.
Official references
Source material