20 Rules for '19: #14 - Double Hit, No Penalty

The USGA has eliminated the “T.C. Chen“.

In the past, if your club or ball got stuck during the stroke and you hit the ball more than once, the shot would count and a penalty shot was added.

But starting in 2019, if your club accidentally hits the ball more than once, only the stroke counts and there is no penalty.

Remember, you must fairly strike at the ball with the head of the club so that there is only momentary contact; you must not intentionally push, scrape or scoop the ball. So all of the recent videos showing players popping a ball twice to sweep it around a tree — no go. Directly from the USGA:

“Videos showing golfers deliberately hitting the ball twice (such as getting around a tree) are not allowed under the Rules. Most of these videos demonstrate a player making two strokes at the ball, with the second being made at a moving ball, which results in two penalty strokes. In total, the player has made two strokes and gets a two-stroke penalty.”