TheRules
The Unplayable Ball Rule Hack by Chris Lang
Want a fun golf hack ? Your ball doesn ’ t have to be unplayable for you to take unplayable ball relief .
Sounds a little dirty , right ? A little like cheating ? “ Play the ball as it lies ” is one of golf ’ s founding principles , and there are clearly cases where you absolutely must declare your ball unplayable . For instance , your drive ends up 20 feet up in a tree and you have no way of hitting it . Or after you take a stroke , your ball nestles under a giant rock or against a boundary fence , leaving you no way to properly hit the ball .
But you can also take unplayable ball relief in just about any situation on the golf course , provided the ball is in bounds and not in a penalty area .
So , let ’ s take a closer look at Rule 19 , which covers the unplayable ball .
Rule 19.1 states : “ A player is the only person who may decide to treat their ball as unplayable by taking penalty relief under Rule 19.2 or 19.3 . Unplayable ball relief is allowed anywhere on the course , except in a penalty area . If a ball is unplayable in a penalty area , the player ’ s only relief option is to take penalty relief under Rule 17 .”
That last sentence is an important distinction that often gets lost . Suppose you hit your second shot on a par-5 offline to the right and it settles inside the red stakes but against a tree trunk where you can ’ t feasibly hit it . Your only option is to take penalty area relief for one stroke and play it from outside of the penalty area .
There are three relief options for an unplayable ball in the general area or on the putting green ( Rule 19.2 ), each resulting in a one-stroke penalty :
19.2a — Stroke-and-Distance Relief : The player may play the original ball or another ball from where the previous stroke was made . Refer to rule 14.6 for more information on where to make the next stroke from where the previous stroke was made on specific areas of the course .
19.2b — Back-on-the-Line Relief : The player may drop the original ball or another ball behind the spot of the original ball , keeping the spot of the original ball between the hole and the spot where the ball is dropped ( with no limit as to how far back the ball may be dropped ). The spot on the line where the ball first touches the ground when dropped creates a relief area that is one club-length in any direction from that point , but with these limits :
• Must not be nearer the hole than the spot of the original ball , and
• May be in any area of the course , but
• Must be in the same area of the course where the ball first touched when dropped .
19.2c — Lateral Relief : The player may drop the original ball or another ball in this lateral relief area . The reference point is the spot of the original ball . But when the ball lies above the ground , such as in a tree , the reference point is the spot directly below the ball on the ground . The size of the relief area measured from the reference point is two club-lengths , but with these limits :
Rule 19.1
A player is the only person who may decide to treat their ball as unplayable by taking penalty relief under Rule 19.2 or 19.3 . Unplayable ball relief is allowed anywhere on the course , except in a penalty area . If a ball is unplayable in a penalty area , the player ’ s only relief option is to take penalty relief under Rule 17 .
• Must not be nearer the hole than the reference point , and
• May be in any area of the course , but
• If more than one area of the course is
14 V IRGINIA G OLFER | S EPTEMBER / O CTOBER 2023 vsga . org