Rule 17 - Penalty Areas

17.1a/1 – Ball Lost in Either Penalty Area or Abnormal Course Condition Adjacent to Penalty Area

If a player’s ball is not found in an area where there is a penalty areaPenalty Area: An area from which relief with a one-stroke penalty is allowed if the player’s ball comes to rest there.(...Continued) and an adjacent abnormal course conditionAbnormal Course Condition: Any of these four defined conditions:, the player must use reasonable judgment (Rule 1.3b(2)) when determining the location of the ball. If, after applying reasonable judgment, it is known or virtually certainKnown or Virtually Certain: The standard for deciding what happened to a player’s ball – for example, whether the ball came to rest in a penalty area, whether it moved or what caused it to move.(...Continued) that the ball has come to rest in one of those areas but both are equally likely, the player must take penalty relief under Rule 17.

17.1d(3)/1 – Player May Measure Across Penalty Area In Taking Lateral Relief

In taking lateral relief where the ball last crossed the edge of a narrow red penalty areaPenalty Area: An area from which relief with a one-stroke penalty is allowed if the player’s ball comes to rest there.(...Continued), it may be possible for the player to measure the two club-lengthsClub-Length: The length of the longest club of the 14 (or fewer) clubs the player has during the round (as allowed by Rule 4.1b(1)), other than a putter.(...Continued) from the reference point across the penalty areaPenalty Area: An area from which relief with a one-stroke penalty is allowed if the player’s ball comes to rest there.(...Continued) in determining the size of the relief areaRelief Area: The area where a player must drop a ball when taking relief under a Rule. With the exception of back-on-the-line relief (see Rules 16.1c(2), 17.1d(2), 19.2b and 19.3), each relief Rule requires the player to use a specific relief area whose size and location are based on these three factors:(...Continued). However, any part of the penalty areaPenalty Area: An area from which relief with a one-stroke penalty is allowed if the player’s ball comes to rest there.(...Continued) within the two club-lengthsClub-Length: The length of the longest club of the 14 (or fewer) clubs the player has during the round (as allowed by Rule 4.1b(1)), other than a putter.(...Continued) as measured from the reference point is not part of the relief areaRelief Area: The area where a player must drop a ball when taking relief under a Rule. With the exception of back-on-the-line relief (see Rules 16.1c(2), 17.1d(2), 19.2b and 19.3), each relief Rule requires the player to use a specific relief area whose size and location are based on these three factors:(...Continued).

17.1d(3)/2 – Player Drops Ball Based on Estimate of Where the Ball Last Crossed Edge of Penalty Area That Turns Out to Be the Wrong Point

If the point where a ball last crossed the edge of a penalty areaPenalty Area: An area from which relief with a one-stroke penalty is allowed if the player’s ball comes to rest there.(...Continued) is not known, a player must use their reasonable judgment to determine the reference point.

Under Rule 1.3b(2), the player’s reasonable judgment will be accepted even if that reference point turns out to be wrong. However, there are situations when, before the player has made a strokeStroke: The forward movement of the club made to strike the ball.(...Continued), it becomes known that the reference point is wrong and this mistake must be corrected.

For example, in stroke playStroke Play: A form of play where a player or side competes against all other players or sides in the competition.(...Continued), it is virtually certainKnown or Virtually Certain: The standard for deciding what happened to a player’s ball – for example, whether the ball came to rest in a penalty area, whether it moved or what caused it to move.(...Continued) that a player’s ball is in a red penalty areaPenalty Area: An area from which relief with a one-stroke penalty is allowed if the player’s ball comes to rest there.(...Continued). The player, having consulted with the other players in the group, estimates where the ball last crossed the edge of the penalty areaPenalty Area: An area from which relief with a one-stroke penalty is allowed if the player’s ball comes to rest there.(...Continued). The player takes lateral relief and dropsDrop: To hold the ball and let go of it so that it falls through the air, with the intent for the ball to be in play.(...Continued) a ball in the relief areaRelief Area: The area where a player must drop a ball when taking relief under a Rule. With the exception of back-on-the-line relief (see Rules 16.1c(2), 17.1d(2), 19.2b and 19.3), each relief Rule requires the player to use a specific relief area whose size and location are based on these three factors:(...Continued) based on that reference point.

But before making a stroke at the droppedDrop: To hold the ball and let go of it so that it falls through the air, with the intent for the ball to be in play.(...Continued) ball, one of the players in the group finds the player’s original ball in the penalty areaPenalty Area: An area from which relief with a one-stroke penalty is allowed if the player’s ball comes to rest there.(...Continued) in a position indicating that the ball last crossed the edge of the penalty areaPenalty Area: An area from which relief with a one-stroke penalty is allowed if the player’s ball comes to rest there.(...Continued) approximately 20 yards closer to the hole than the reference point the player had estimated.

Because this information became known before the player made a strokeStroke: The forward movement of the club made to strike the ball.(...Continued) at the droppedDrop: To hold the ball and let go of it so that it falls through the air, with the intent for the ball to be in play.(...Continued) ball, the player must correct the error under Rule 14.5 (Correcting Mistake Made in Substituting, Replacing, Dropping or Placing Ball). In doing so, the player must proceed under Rule 17.1  or Rule 17.2a with respect to the correct reference point and may use any relief option under the relevant Rule (see Rule 14.5b(2)).

17.2b/1 – Examples of Options for Relief Allowed by Rule 17.2b

In the diagram, a player plays from the teeing areaTeeing Area: The area the player must play from in starting the hole they are playing.(...Continued) and the ball comes to rest in the red penalty areaPenalty Area: An area from which relief with a one-stroke penalty is allowed if the player’s ball comes to rest there.(...Continued) at Point A. The player elects to play from the penalty areaPenalty Area: An area from which relief with a one-stroke penalty is allowed if the player’s ball comes to rest there.(...Continued) playing to Point B, which is out of boundsOut of Bounds: All areas outside the boundary edge of the course as defined by the Committee. All areas inside that edge are in bounds.(...Continued).

The player may take stroke-and-distanceStroke and Distance: The procedure and penalty when a player takes relief under Rules 17, 18 or 19 by playing a ball from where the previous stroke was made (see Rule 14.6).(...Continued) relief under Rule 18.2b by using Point A as the reference point for the relief areaRelief Area: The area where a player must drop a ball when taking relief under a Rule. With the exception of back-on-the-line relief (see Rules 16.1c(2), 17.1d(2), 19.2b and 19.3), each relief Rule requires the player to use a specific relief area whose size and location are based on these three factors:(...Continued) and will be playing 4.

If the player takes stroke-and-distanceStroke and Distance: The procedure and penalty when a player takes relief under Rules 17, 18 or 19 by playing a ball from where the previous stroke was made (see Rule 14.6).(...Continued)  relief by droppingDrop: To hold the ball and let go of it so that it falls through the air, with the intent for the ball to be in play.(...Continued) a ball back into the penalty areaPenalty Area: An area from which relief with a one-stroke penalty is allowed if the player’s ball comes to rest there.(...Continued) and then decides not to play the droppedDrop: To hold the ball and let go of it so that it falls through the air, with the intent for the ball to be in play.(...Continued) ball from where it comes to rest:

• The player may take back-on-the-line relief anywhere on dotted line X-Y outside the penalty areaPenalty Area: An area from which relief with a one-stroke penalty is allowed if the player’s ball comes to rest there.(...Continued) under Rule 17.1d(2), take lateral relief using point X as the reference point under Rule 17.1d(3) or play another ball from where the last strokeStroke: The forward movement of the club made to strike the ball.(...Continued) was made outside the penalty areaPenalty Area: An area from which relief with a one-stroke penalty is allowed if the player’s ball comes to rest there.(...Continued) (in this case the teeing areaTeeing Area: The area the player must play from in starting the hole they are playing.(...Continued)) under Rule 17.2a(2).

• If the player takes any of these three options, they get one more penalty stroke, for a total of two penalty strokes: one stroke for taking stroke-and-distanceStroke and Distance: The procedure and penalty when a player takes relief under Rules 17, 18 or 19 by playing a ball from where the previous stroke was made (see Rule 14.6).(...Continued) relief plus one stroke for taking any back-on-the-line relief, lateral relief or for playing another ball from where the last strokeStroke: The forward movement of the club made to strike the ball.(...Continued) was made outside the penalty areaPenalty Area: An area from which relief with a one-stroke penalty is allowed if the player’s ball comes to rest there.(...Continued) (in this case the teeing areaTeeing Area: The area the player must play from in starting the hole they are playing.(...Continued)). Thus, the player will be playing 5 under any of these options.

The player also has the option to take relief outside the penalty areaPenalty Area: An area from which relief with a one-stroke penalty is allowed if the player’s ball comes to rest there.(...Continued) without first droppingDrop: To hold the ball and let go of it so that it falls through the air, with the intent for the ball to be in play.(...Continued) a ball in the penalty areaPenalty Area: An area from which relief with a one-stroke penalty is allowed if the player’s ball comes to rest there.(...Continued), but will still get a total of two penalty strokes for doing so.