Tiger Woods at the Masters 2007, rule query.....?

Question

Mr Woods on the tee and deliberately misses the ball, because he was put off by a bird flying past mid swing, what is the ruling if he tries to miss the ball but actually hits it by mistake?

Answer 1

Simple did he touch the ball , No, Did his clubhead pass the ball on the downswing , No , so the ruling rendered was correct .

Answer 2

The Rule in question is RULE 14 "Striking the ball"
Under the definition section it states:
"A 'stroke' is the forward movement of the club made with the intention of fairly striking at and moving the ball, but if a player checks his downswing voluntarily before the club head reaches the ball he is deemed not to have made a stroke"

Now the 3 important phrases are:
"Fairly striking at or moving the ball"
"checks his downswing voluntarily"
"reaches the ball"

The word check does not mean stopping the club before it passes some imaginary plane which starts at the back of the ball. So as long as changed your intention to fairly strike at or move the ball and made a voluntary check or adjustment to your downswing so that you didnt strike or move the ball, it is NOT a stroke. The club can go inside or outside where the ball is and it still is not a stroke.
It is all about voluntarily checking and intent

If the club head "reaches the ball", that is,the ball is hit by the club or moves from its position to another, even though you tried to check your swing. It IS a stroke. No penalty is added

You just count the stroke and play it where it lies

Some of you will say what about "air swings" are they strokes then, cause I didn't hit or move ball?
The answer is YES they are a stroke because you intended to fairly strike or move the ball and did not voluntarily check your swing.

There is NO distinction between tee shots and any other shots. The rule doesnt state that the ball has to have been " put into play"
Also if you are in a hazard and in the course of checking your shot the cub head hits the ground or water or moves a loose impediment you would be assessed a penalty of 2 strokes

Answer 3

I think from reading the Rules of Golf, the tee shot is different than any other shots, as the tee shot is the first shot that put the ball in play. In other shot making, even once you address the ball and you have somehow caused the ball to move with or without intention with or without performing a swing, you are making a one stroke.
With the tee shot, the ball has not been put in play yet, so any accident that causes the ball to move doesn't count as a stroke and player can retee the ball if it has moved from the tee. But, if Tiger has made a complete swing and the club face hit or mishit the ball and has caused the ball to move from the tee, it is a stroke. A complete swing is the backward motion of the club and a forward motion. The intention of taking a swing is very difficult to determine, that is why only the player can declar whether he is intend to hit the ball or not. You see practice shot over the ball and an air shot is completely different. An air shot, completely mishit the ball and the ball remains at the same place where it rests still count as one shot, whereas practice shots don't count.
So if Tiger did the complete back swing, and forward swing and completely missed the ball but if he carried all the intention to hit it, it counts as one stroke, but if he change his intention and completely miss the ball, it is not. But, if the club face somehow has caused the ball to move, still it is one stroke as the complete swing has been made.

Answer 4

The definition of a "stroke" in golf is the backward and forward movement of the club with the »intention« of fairly striking at the ball. A ball on the teeing ground is not in play until the first attempt to play a stroke.Therefore, if there is no intention, accidentally hitting the ball does not count as a stroke. Through the green, a ball accidentally moved by the club or otherwise must be replaced and the player incurs a penalty of one stroke.

Answer 5

All of these answers are partially correct, but they are forgetting to mention "intent". If there is intent to hit the ball, then whether or not you hit it, it's a stroke.

Phil Mickelson whiffed in the rough last year in the final round of the open, and that was considered a stroke, but a more analogous ruling to Tiger's situation would be Craig Stadler

At the 1984 Open at Winged foot he whiffed on his tee shot on the 16th hole. He intended to hit the ball but didn't, but because his intent was there, it was deemed a stroke. He kicked the ball off the tee and walked off the course.

Tiger was deemed not to have intent because of the bird that flew overhead (that you could clearly see on slow-mo replays).

Answer 6

NO, NO NO NO NO, NO NO NO NO I am not rooting for Tiger Woods. E. I am rooting for Phil Mickelson. Phil's "off-links" problems are NOT of his own making. I think it would be a much greater story for everyone if the man who has spent the last five months helping his wife and his mother battle breast cancer make a triumphant return to "form" than a guy who can't keep his pants zipped up winning and only being sorry for getting caught/having the affair go public.

Answer 7

The Rules of Golf, USGA.

Definitions:


Stroke
A “stroke’’ is the forward movement of the club made with the intention of striking at and moving the ball, but if a player checks his downswing voluntarily before the clubhead reaches the ball he has not made a stroke.


The downswing has to be stopped before the club reaches the ball to avert counting it as a stroke. An accidental hit on an attempted check counts as a stroke because the club reached the ball.

Answer 8

If he tried to miss it but did end up hitting the ball off the tee, it doesnt matter if it went 4 yards, it would still count as his first shot.

Answer 9

Tiger tried and succeded to stop his swing, so he was not trying to hit the ball so he did not take a stroke.

If he had hit the ball, i think it would just count as a regular shot, and play it as it lies.

Answer 10

Once he performs a swing, as soon as he touches the ball, he gets a stroke. On that swing, it did look like he went passed the ball and when that happens and you miss, you earn a 2-stroke penalty. It is still very controversial.