Golf Rules Refresher: Unplayable Ball Essentials

You can declare an unplayable ball anywhere on the course except a penalty area. It’s important to note that if your ball is in a penalty area, you must proceed under Rule 17 which deals with penalty areas, as opposed to Rule 19 which covers the relief options for an unplayable ball.

If your ball is in an unplayable position in the general area, or on the putting green, you have three options under Rule 19.2, all under penalty of one stroke.

1 – You can take stroke-and-distance relief. I.e. you may play the original ball or another ball from where the last shot was taken.

2 – You can take back-on-the-line relief. You may drop the original ball or another ball. You can go back as far as you like keeping the spot of the original ball between you and the hole. The ball is dropped on a spot on this line and it must come to rest within one club length of that spot. It must be no closer to the hole than where the ball was originally.

3 – You can take lateral relief. Two club lengths from the spot of the original ball, no closer to the hole. If the ball is suspended above the ground, the two club lengths is measured from a reference point on the ground directly below where the original ball is located.

For the second two options, you can drop in any area of the course, but the ball must stay in the same area of the course as the spot on which it was dropped.

To take relief for an unplayable ball, you must be able to identify it. If you believe your ball is stuck up a tree for instance, you must be able to identify it as yours to take back on the line or lateral relief.

If you want to take relief for an unplayable ball in a bunker, you have the same three options as in the general area, all for penalty of one stroke. And, upon dropping on the line or laterally, the ball must stay in the bunker.

However, Rule 19.3b gives you one more relief option for an unplayable lie in a bunker, under penalty of two shots you can take back-on-the-line relief outside of the bunker.