Double Hit
A double hit in golf is when a player’s club accidentally strikes the ball twice during a single swing. Under the current Rules of Golf, an accidental double hit counts as one stroke and carries no penalty.
What is a double hit?
Inside a single stroke, the clubhead makes contact with the ball and then catches it again a fraction of a second later, usually on the follow-through. On a normal shot, this never happens. The ball springs off the face and is well down the fairway before the club finishes its arc.
The second contact tends to show up on short shots around the green, on delicate chips and pitches where the ball pops up slowly while the clubhead is still moving through the same space. The result is almost always a poor one, since that extra clip sends the ball off in an unplanned direction.
One word decides how a double hit is treated: accidental. Nearly every double hit is an accident inside an otherwise normal swing, and that is the version most golfers will ever see. A deliberate second strike is judged differently, which the sections below cover.
Is there a penalty for a double hit?
No. An accidental double hit is one stroke, with no penalty added. The player simply counts the shot and plays the ball from wherever it ends up.
This sits in Rule 10.1a, “Fairly striking the ball.” The rule says a player must strike at the ball with the head of the club so there is only momentary contact, and must not push, scrape, or scoop it. It then adds that if the club accidentally hits the ball more than once, “there has been only one stroke and there is no penalty” (USGA). The number of contacts does not matter either. Two touches or three, an accidental double hit still counts as a single stroke.
A common example: a golfer chips from just off the green, the ball pops up, and it brushes the clubface again on the follow-through before settling on the fringe. That is one stroke, and the next shot is played from the fringe.
How the double hit rule changed in 2019
The no-penalty ruling is fairly recent, which is why some players still expect a penalty. Before 2019, a double hit cost a golfer the stroke plus an extra penalty stroke, so a single swing counted as two shots under the old Rule 14-4.
That changed when the USGA and The R&A modernised the Rules of Golf for 2019. Their reasoning was that a double hit is an accident, the outcome is random, and it tends to hurt the player as often as it helps. The governing bodies also wanted the treatment of accidental deflections to be consistent, since a ball that bounces off a player’s own body or equipment already carried no penalty (USGA). Zambia’s Madalitso Muthiya was one of the last players penalised under the old rule, taking a one-stroke penalty for a double hit at the 2018 South African Open, only weeks before the change took effect (Golf Monthly).
Accidental vs. intentional double hit
The no-penalty rule protects accidents only. A golfer who deliberately hits the ball a second time, or who intentionally strikes a ball that is still moving, is not covered by Rule 10.1a and does pick up a penalty.
The difference comes down to intent, and the scoring reflects it:
| Accidental double hit | Intentional second strike | |
| What happens | Club catches the ball twice inside one normal swing | Player deliberately hits the ball again, or hits a moving ball on purpose |
| Ruling | One stroke, no penalty (Rule 10.1a) | General penalty applies |
| Score in stroke play | 1 stroke | Stroke plus two penalty strokes |
| Score in match play | 1 stroke | Loss of hole |
So the removal of the penalty is not a loophole for steering the ball with a second tap. Deliberately playing a moving ball brings the general penalty, which is two strokes in stroke play or loss of the hole in match play (Golf Monthly).
Why double hits happen
Speed is what creates a double hit. Right after impact on a delicate shot, the clubhead and the ball can be travelling at almost the same slow pace. The ball floats up, the club keeps drifting along the same line, and the two meet a second time (CaddieHQ).
The move that sets this up is a scoop, where the wrists flip and the clubhead races past the hands through impact instead of staying behind them. Deceleration feeds the same fault. When a golfer slows the club down over a short shot rather than swinging through it, the head loiters near the ball long enough for a second contact. Awkward lies raise the odds. A fluffy lie where the ball sits up on the grass is one classic setting, and so is fat contact that saps clubhead speed before the ball has left the face. Bunker shots that pop the ball off the sand create the same risk. Touring professionals are not immune, though the double hit stays a rare sight at the top level (Gears Sports).
Related Golf Terms
- Lost ball — A ball not found within the allotted search time, incurring penalty.
- Wrong green — A green other than the one in play, requiring mandatory relief.
- Temporary water — Surface water not in a penalty area that allows free relief.
- Wrong ball — Playing a ball that is not yours, which incurs a penalty.
- Three-minute search — The maximum time allowed to look for a ball before it is deemed lost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a double hit count as two strokes?
No. An accidental double hit is a single stroke under Rule 10.1a, no matter how many times the club touches the ball during that swing.
Is a double hit still a penalty?
Not when it is accidental. The 2019 Rules of Golf removed the old one-stroke penalty, so an accidental double hit now costs nothing beyond the shot itself. A deliberate second strike is still penalised.
Does the no-penalty rule apply on the putting green?
Yes. An accidental double hit with a putter is treated the same as any other: one stroke, no penalty, and the ball is played from where it stops.
Are double hits common?
They are uncommon, and rare among professionals. Most happen on short shots around the green where the clubhead and ball move at similar speeds.
What is Rule 10.1a?
Rule 10.1a, “Fairly striking the ball,” sets out how a stroke must be made and confirms that an accidental double hit counts as one stroke with no penalty.
Sources
- USGA and The R&A. “Rule 10 – Fairly Striking the Ball (Rule 10.1a).” Rules of Golf. Accessed July 2026.
https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/custom-search-pages/rules/2019-golf-rules-and-interpretations/pe-rule-10.html - USGA. “Major Change: Ball Accidentally Struck More Than Once During a Stroke.” Rules Modernization. Accessed July 2026.
https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules-hub/rules-modernization/major-changes/ball-accidentally-struck-more-than-once.html - Golf Monthly. “10 Golf Rules That No Longer Exist.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.golfmonthly.com/golf-rules/10-golf-rules-that-no-longer-exist - Golf Compendium. “What Is a Double Hit and Is There a Penalty?” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.golfcompendium.com/2024/03/double-hit-definition-penalty.html - CaddieHQ. “What Happens if You Double Hit a Golf Ball?” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.caddiehq.com/resources/what-happens-if-you-double-hit-a-golf-ball
