What is the penalty for playing from the wrong place in golf?
A · Advanced · Free relief and dropping the ball · 5 of 9After starting a hole, every stroke must be made from where the ball lies or from where a Rule says to play. Playing from anywhere else, such as from a spot the ball was not put back on, or from outside the relief area, is the general penalty: two strokes, or the hole in match play.
How it works
Examples the Rules give:
- Playing a ball after replacing it on the wrong spot, or without replacing it when a Rule required that.
- Playing a dropped ball from outside the relief area.
- Taking relief under a Rule that did not apply.
- Playing from a no play zone.
In stroke play, what happens next depends on how much was gained:
- Not a serious breach: the player adds two strokes and finishes the hole with that ball.
- A serious breach, meaning the player could have gained a significant advantage: the player must also go back and play from the right place. Not correcting it before the next hole means disqualification.
- Not sure which: the player should finish the hole with two balls, one from each place, and must report it to the Committee before returning the scorecard.
Avoiding it:
- A mistake in dropping, placing or replacing may be corrected without penalty at any time before the ball is played.
- A player's reasonable judgement of a spot or a line is accepted, even if video later shows it was wrong.
Tricky cases
A player dropped in the wrong spot but noticed before hitting. Is there a penalty?
No. A mistake corrected before the ball is played has no penalty.
A player estimated where the ball crossed into a pond, and television later showed the estimate was a few yards out. Is there a penalty?
No. If the player did what could reasonably be expected to get it right, that judgement is accepted.
A player forgot to move the ball-marker back on the green and putted. What is the penalty?
Two strokes in stroke play, or loss of the hole in match play. The ball was played from a wrong place.
Why the rule exists
Almost every relief Rule ends in a ball being put somewhere. This Rule is what makes "somewhere" exact, and its penalty is the one behind most of the others.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Rules of Golf, stroke play | Two strokes, and a serious breach must be corrected | G 14.7 |
| Rules of Golf, match play | Loss of hole | G 14.7a; G Definitions (Serious breach) |
From the rule book
The R&A and USGA Rules of Golf, Rules 1.3b, 14.5 and 14.7, and the Definitions of serious breach and wrong place. Effective January 2023. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: Rules of Golf (PDF).