Golfers often swap out balls in the middle of the round, but not necessarily because they want to. Errant shots go AWOL, which forces new balls to be put into play.
What happens, though, if you haven’t lost your ball and you want to change it anyway? Do the rules allow you to plunk down a different ball mid-hole?
It depends.
Under Rule 14.3, you can change balls between holes anytime. You can also substitute a new ball when you’re taking free relief from, say, a cart path or a sprinkler head or casual water; or when you’re taking penalty relief from a penalty area or an unplayable lie.
A damaged ball is also eligible for substitution, but only if that damage is a cut or a crack. A little scrape or scratch is not enough. Swapping out a ball mid-hole just because you feel like it is not allowed. Once you’ve teed off on that hole, you can’t change balls until you’ve putted out.
All of the above applies to the golf that most of us play.
And most of us don’t play in elite competition. In high-level tournaments, Model Local Rule G-4 is often enforced. This is also known as the “same ball” rule and it means what it says. Players are required to use the same brand and model of golf ball throughout their round.
Just ask Russell Henley. At the 2019 Mayakoba Golf Classic, Henley was slapped with eight penalty strokes after he discovered that he had used two different types of Titleist ProVIx balls during the second round. Whether anyone else would have noticed is hard to say. But Henley did. He noticed his mistake while signing post-round autographs and turned himself in.
You’d do the same, right? Living with that terrible secret would be too much to bear.
