putting rules

Question
What is the rule for accidently hitting the ball during your putting stroke?  Thanks


Answer
Hi there and thank you for asking... hitting a ball with your club or any part of your club counts as a stroke... regardless of whether it was "practice" or unintentional, etc.... in other words there are no excuses.  The only exception is off the tee, where you can knock the ball of or even tap the ball like Fred Couples used to do for fun, without penalty.  However, even on the tee, if the ball is hit on a practice stroke, you are deemed to have made a play on the ball and it counts.

Of course if the putter just touches the ball on address, it is your job to call it since no one else could see that.  If you don't, you are cheating.  So be safe and set the putter or club at least half an inch behind the ball, and a bit more if your hands are truly unsteady.

If you have any followups and further questions in the future,
please ask me in my more commonly used web site,
Answerway.com.  You can go to my direct link at

http://answerway.com/profile.php?expid=Dathaeus

and check out all my public FAQ's as well as ask me a direct
question.  Thank you and good luck.