WATCH: Does this count as a stroke?

Plenty of golfing groups will argue this point over and over.

However, any whiff at the ball whether on the tee or the green counts as a stroke.

Golfers have many phobias, so naming any one of them their “worst” would do an injustice to the plethora of on-course anxieties that occupy their minds. Having said that, absolutely missing the golf ball during a swing must be near the top of the list.

Even taking a dip at the ball like this counts as a stroke.

The truth is that a whiff is not restricted to the novice golfer who cannot make contact until their third or fourth hack. A whiff may happen to anybody at any time, especially in dense rough, a hard lay out of the fescue, or deep in the woods when attempting to punch out sideways Club Pro Guy-style.

You may be thinking, ‘Well, yeah, that’s the PGA Tour. Of course, it counts. When I’m playing with my mates on the weekend, I’m not going to take a chance.’ This is acceptable, but you are technically cheating.

In terms of golf rules, the most important thing to understand about a whiff and whether it should be counted is purpose. It doesn’t matter if you miss the ball because you planned to hit it. If you accidently hit it on a practice swing, like Zach Johnson did at the 2019 Masters, it does not count as a stroke because he had no intention of hitting the ball, which was readily shown.

But if you meant to, and missed, it counts. As the Rules of Golf defines it, a stroke is made with “the forward movement of a club made to strike the ball,” which is quite literally what a whiff is if you’ve had the unfortunate pleasure of experiencing one.