Wind-Moved Ball During a Putt Stays in Play

A gust that shifts your ball after you have started the backswing does not give you another attempt. Finish the putt, then continue from the ball’s new resting place. That remains the procedure even when the movement makes you miss. The cause does not change the outcome once the swing is underway.

The timing creates an important exception on the putting green. If you had already lifted and returned the ball, then wind or gravity moved it before you began swinging, you would put it back at its prior location. That familiar green procedure comes from Rule 13.1d (2). Movement beginning during the backswing or the club’s forward motion instead falls under Rule 9.1b.

Putting the ball back after starting the swing would mean playing from an incorrect location. In stroke play, the general penalty adds two shots. In match play, the player loses the hole. For golfers facing blustery conditions, the dividing line is simple: movement before the swing calls for replacement, while movement after the swing begins leaves the ball wherever the completed attempt sends it.