What can you do if your golf ball is unplayable?
I · Intermediate · Lost balls, out of bounds and penalty relief · 12 of 16A player may treat the ball as an unplayable ball anywhere on the course except in a penalty area, and only the player can decide it. For one penalty stroke there are three choices: go back to the last spot, drop back on a line from the hole, or drop within two club-lengths.
How it works
| Option | Where the ball is dropped |
|---|---|
| Stroke and distance | At the spot of the previous stroke |
| Back on the line | On the line from the hole through the ball's spot, as far back as the player likes |
| Lateral relief | Within two club-lengths of the ball's spot, not nearer the hole |
- Each costs one penalty stroke.
- The player needs no reason. The Rules do not ask whether the ball could have been played.
- For the second and third options the player must know where the ball is, so it has to be found and identified. Stroke and distance can be taken without finding it.
- A ball off the ground, such as one in a tree: the two club-lengths are measured from the spot on the ground directly below it.
- Another ball may be used.
In a bunker:
- The same three options for one stroke, but with the second and third the ball must be dropped in the bunker and stay in it.
- A fourth option, for two penalty strokes in total: back on the line outside the bunker.
Tricky cases
Does the ball have to be impossible to hit?
No. The player "is the only person who may decide to treat their ball as unplayable", and may do so anywhere outside a penalty area.
The ball is stuck up a tree. What can the player do?
Identify it, then take any of the three options. The lateral drop is measured from the ground straight below the ball.
After a two club-length drop the ball is still in the bush. Is there a free second go?
No. The dropped ball is in play. Treating it as unplayable again costs another penalty stroke.
Why the rule exists
The Rules describe it as a way "to get out of a difficult situation anywhere on the course". It stops a hole being ruined by a ball that cannot be hit, at a known price.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Rules of Golf, general area and putting green | Three options | G 19.2 |
| Rules of Golf, bunker | Drops stay in the bunker, or two strokes to come out | G 19.3 |
| Penalty area | No unplayable relief. Penalty area relief only | G 19.1; G 17.3 |
From the rule book
The R&A and USGA Rules of Golf, Rules 14.3c, 17.3 and 19. Effective January 2023. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: Rules of Golf (PDF).