Golf — Rules 14–19
A free drop starts with the reason, not the destination.
The phrase “take a drop” hides the most important parts of a golf ruling. A player needs a Rule that authorises relief, a reference point, a correctly sized relief area, any limits on the course area, the correct penalty, and a ball dropped in the prescribed way.
Quick ruling: under the R&A and USGA 2023 Rules of Golf, first identify why relief is allowed. Free relief commonly comes from an abnormal course condition under Rule 16; penalty areas and unplayable balls use different one-stroke options under Rules 17 and 19. Rule 14 then controls how the ball is dropped and when the procedure is complete.
Decision path
Build the relief area in the right order
- Identify the condition and the area of the course where the ball lies.
- Confirm that the relevant Rule actually permits relief and whether it is free or carries penalty strokes.
- Choose an available relief option before lifting the ball when the Rules require that choice to be made.
- Identify or estimate the reference point specified by that option.
- Measure the relief area with the longest club carried for the round other than a putter, subject to the Rule's one- or two-club-length size.
- Apply every location limit: course area, not nearer the hole, complete relief, and any line or boundary requirement.
- Drop in the right way and confirm that the ball comes to rest inside the relief area.
Free relief
Abnormal course conditions under Rule 16
The 2023 R&A/USGA Rule 16 groups animal holes, ground under repair, immovable obstructions, and temporary water as abnormal course conditions. Interference exists when the ball touches or lies in or on the condition, or the condition physically interferes with the intended stance or swing. Only when the ball is on the putting green does an abnormal condition on the line of play also count as interference.
Free relief is generally available except when the ball is in a penalty area. It can also be denied when playing the ball as it lies is clearly unreasonable for another reason, or when interference exists only through a clearly unreasonable club, stance, swing, or direction of play.
Reference point
Nearest point of complete relief is not the best point
For Rule 16 relief from the general area, the reference point is the nearest point of complete relief in the general area. It is the nearest location, no nearer the hole, where the condition no longer interferes with the lie, intended stance, or intended swing for the stroke the player would have made.
The point may leave the player with rough, an awkward stance, or an obstructed line. The Rules do not compare the quality of possible lies and award the most favourable one. A player should simulate the intended club, stance, swing, and direction to locate the point accurately.
Relief area
One club-length still has several limits
For free relief from an abnormal course condition in the general area, Rule 16.1b creates a one-club-length relief area measured from the nearest point of complete relief. The relief area must remain in the general area, must not be nearer the hole, and must provide complete relief from the condition.
A measured semicircle is therefore not automatically usable in full. Portions disappear if they cross into a bunker or penalty area, lie nearer the hole, or leave any of the relevant interference.
Different surface
Relief on the putting green is placed
When a ball on the putting green has Rule 16.1 interference, the player takes free relief by placing the original or another ball at the nearest point of complete relief, rather than dropping it. That point may be on the putting green or in the general area, but not nearer the hole.
This is why “all relief is a drop” is unsafe shorthand. The area where the original ball lies and the Rule being used determine whether the ball is dropped, placed, or replaced.
Other free procedures
Movable does not mean immovable
Rule 15 normally lets a player remove a movable obstruction anywhere on or off the course. If the ball moves while the obstruction is being removed, there is no penalty and the ball is replaced on its original spot. An immovable obstruction instead falls within the abnormal-course-condition procedure when the Rule 16 interference test is met.
Boundary objects and integral objects do not provide free relief merely because they are artificial. Course markings and Local Rules identify these categories.
Penalty relief
Penalty areas use Rule 17 options
When a ball is in a penalty area, the player may play it as it lies without penalty or use an available Rule 17 option for one penalty stroke. Both red and yellow penalty areas provide stroke-and-distance and back-on-the-line relief. A red penalty area also provides lateral relief within two club-lengths of the point where the original ball last crossed the edge, subject to the Rule's limits.
Penalty-area relief is not based on the nearest point of complete relief. The crossing point, previous-stroke position, or back-on-the-line location supplies the reference required by the option chosen.
Unplayable ball
The player decides under Rule 19
A player may declare their ball unplayable anywhere on the course except in a penalty area. For one penalty stroke, the standard options are stroke and distance, back-on-the-line relief, or lateral relief within two club-lengths of the ball's spot, with the required limits.
Special bunker restrictions apply when the unplayable ball is in a bunker. Options that stay in the bunker carry one penalty stroke; the additional back-on-the-line option outside the bunker carries a total of two penalty strokes. Rule 17, not Rule 19, governs a ball in a penalty area.
Correct drop
Drop straight down from knee height
Rule 14.3b requires the player—not normally the caddie or another person—to drop the ball straight down from knee height. Knee height means the height of the player's knee while standing, although the player does not need to stand upright while dropping.
The ball must not be thrown, spun, rolled, or released with another motion intended to influence where it finishes. Before touching the ground it must not touch the player's body or equipment, and it must be dropped in the relief area or on the required line for a back-on-the-line procedure.
Where it finishes
A correct release is only half the procedure
A ball dropped in the right way must come to rest in the relief area. If it finishes outside, the player drops a second time. If the second correct drop also finishes outside, Rule 14.3c requires the player to place a ball on the spot where the second drop first touched the ground, following the placement procedure if it will not stay there.
If a correctly dropped ball accidentally hits the player, equipment, or another outside influence after striking the ground, no penalty applies. If it then comes to rest inside the relief area, relief is complete; if outside, the normal re-drop procedure applies.
Fixing errors
Correct the mistake before making a stroke
Rule 14.5 generally allows a player to lift a ball and correct an error in substituting, replacing, dropping, or placing before the ball is played. That opportunity is why players should pause and verify the reference point and relief area before the next stroke.
Once a stroke is made from a wrong place, the general penalty normally applies: loss of hole in match play or two penalty strokes in stroke play. A serious breach in stroke play can require correction before returning the scorecard or otherwise lead to disqualification under Rule 14.7b.
Worked comparison
Cart path, red stakes, and a bush are three rulings
- Ball beside a cart path: if an immovable path interferes under Rule 16 and no exception applies, free relief uses the nearest point of complete relief and a one-club-length relief area.
- Ball in a red penalty area: Rule 17 offers play-as-it-lies or one-stroke relief options, including lateral relief based on the last crossing point.
- Ball in an ordinary bush: there is no free relief merely because the lie is difficult. The player can play as it lies or use Rule 19 unplayable-ball relief for one penalty stroke.
Official references
Source material