You’re standing over a fluffy lie in the greenside rough. You try to play a delicate little flop, but you decelerate and flub it. The ball pops straight up in the air, and on your follow-through, you hear a second *click* as your club glances the ball again. For a brief, horrible moment, you have no idea what to do. So, can you double hit in golf? The short answer is yes, but the better news is that it’s no longer a penalty. This article will clear up the rules, explain exactly why those dreaded double hits happen, and give you practical advice from a coach’s perspective to make sure they're a thing of the past.
If you've played golf for a while, you probably remember a time when a double hit was one of the most penalizing and frustrating things that could happen on the course. A single, clumsy motion could add two strokes to your score. Thankfully, in 2019, the governing bodies of golf (the USGA and R&,A) made a very welcome change to simplify this rule.
Before 2019, Rule 14-4 stated that if a player’s club struck the ball more than once in the course of a single stroke, it was a foul. The penalty was severe: you had to count the stroke you made and add a one-stroke penalty. That's a total of two strokes for one swing - a real scorecard wrecker.
Let's paint the picture. Imagine that scenario from the introduction:
Under the old rule, you would count your chip shot (1 stroke) and then add a penalty stroke (1 stroke). You would now be lying three, having to play your fourth shot from wherever the ball finally came to rest. It always felt disproportionately harsh for what was essentially an accident during a poorly executed shot.
The rules modernization in 2019 brought much-needed common sense to this situation. Under Rule 10.1a, "Fairly Striking the Ball," there is no longer a penalty for accidentally hitting the ball more than once in a single stroke.
The logic is simple and fair: a double hit is unintentional. It’s the result of one single intent - to hit the ball - that went wrong. Why penalize a player for bad luck on top of what is already a bad shot?
So, what happens now? Using the same scenario:
You are now lying two and will play your third shot from its new position. No penalty, no extra strokes, just the consequence of a bad shot. This change rewards intent and removes the confusing penalty, making the game simpler and more enjoyable for everyone.
Even though there’s no penalty, a double hit is still a sign that something went significantly wrong in your swing. It’s not just a freak accident, it’s caused by a specific technical flaw. Understanding this flaw is the first step to eliminating it from your game. These shots almost exclusively happen on short, delicate shots where touch and feel are required.
You’re most likely to see a a "double touch" in these tricky situations:
The number one cause of a double hit is a breakdown of the wrists and a desire to help the ball into the air. Golfers often feel they need to get "under" the ball and lift it, so they "scoop" at it with their hands and wrists.
Here’s what happens in slow motion:
In essence, the double hit is the ultimate result of a stroke where the hands become hyperactive and the clubhead's path is completely altered from its intended arc.
While the rules are on your side, no one wants to hit these shots. The result is almost always terrible - a putt from a long distance or another chip from a tough spot. To build a reliable short game, you need to develop a technique that eradicates any chance of a scoop, and therefore, a double hit.
The root of the issue is often deceleration. When you feel nervous over a tricky chip, the instinct is to slow down and get "guide-sy" with your hands. You must fight this urge and commit to turning your body through the impact zone.
The "scoop" or "flip" is physically impossible if your lead wrist (left wrist for right-handers) remains flat through impact. A breakdown is characterized by the lead wrist "cupping" or bending upwards in an attempt to lift the ball.
This is the concept that is most counterintuitive for many golfers. You do not need to help the ball get in the air - that's what the loft on the club is for! To make solid, crisp contact, the club needs to strike the ball on a slightly descending path.
That moment of panic when you think you might've hit the ball twice can now be replaced with simple relief. Thanks to the 2019 rule changes, an accidental double hit results in counting only the single stroke you intended to make. This sensible update removes a layer of confusion, even though the underlying technical fault - usually a "scoopy" motion due to deceleration - is something every golfer should work to eliminate for a more consistent short game.
Tough lies in the rough or tricky bunker shots are often where players feel the most uncertainty, leading to the tentative swings that cause these kinds of mistakes. That's why we built Caddie AI. In those moments of doubt, you can take a picture of your ball's lie, and we’ll give you simple, expert advice on the best way to play the shot. By removing the guesswork, you can commit to your swing with confidence, turning a potential disaster into a manageable outcome and keeping those double hits off your mind for good.
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