Ever played a shot only to realize it wasn’t quite the perfect strike you thought it was? For decades, that moment came with an added sting. Since 2019, rules have changed.

Golf quietly became more forgiving when the sport’s rulemakers modernized the Rules of Golf, removing one of its most confusing penalties and replacing it with something closer to common sense.

Trying to Make a Meaningful Change

In 2019, golf’s governing bodies, the USGA and The R&A, aimed at simplifying the game. One of the things they focused on was updating the double penalty.

Under the old code, if a player struck the ball more than once during a single stroke, it counted as an extra penalty stroke. One swing could suddenly turn into a double punishment. The modernized rules eliminated that additional penalty.

The Rule That Ended Double Penalty

The change sits in Rule 10.1a (Making a Stroke). It states that if a ball is accidentally struck more than once during a single stroke, the stroke counts only once. There is no extra penalty, and the ball is played from where it comes to rest.

The keyword is accidental. The rule protects unintended multiple contact during one continuous swing, not deliberate attempts to push, scoop, or carry the ball.

How Rule 10.1a Plays Out on Course

Consider a common situation around the green. You are lying one just off the putting surface. You play a delicate chip, but the club catches the ball twice as it comes off the face. Under the current rule, you count that stroke once. You are now lying two and play your next shot from the new position. Nothing is added, nothing is wiped away, as the outcome of the shot is penalty enough.

This applies anywhere on the course, whether from thick rough, sand, or a tight lie. However, accidental double contacts in the same stroke get ignored for scoring purposes. So one question remains.

Why did the change happen?

The logic behind the update was straightforward. A double hit is almost always the result of poor contact or an awkward lie. So, the rulemakers decided that penalizing a player twice for the same mistake was unnecessary and confusing.

While double hits still signal a flawed stroke, they no longer carry an extra layer of punishment. Today, players count the stroke, accept the result, and move on.

Written by

Aditi Singh

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi