You know when you are entitled to relief. You can determine where you are entitled to drop'. Now is there anything I should know about HOW I should be dropping the ball??
Firstly, how do I drop the ball??
Rule 14.3 applies, but also check out definition of "Drop". In all cases, three conditions apply
- you alone must drop the ball (No one else can drop the ball for you.)
- you drop the ball from knee height
- the ball must be dropped in the relief area and come to rest in the relief area.
Rule 14.3b has an excellent diagram on
how to drop the ball. Rule 14.3c has an excellent diagram explaining the meaning of '
relief area'.
But there are times when you may be required to re-drop.
So, when do I re-drop?
The rules require you to re-drop the ball when:
- The ball comes to rest outside the relief area.
- The ball is dropped outside the relief area (regardless of whether it rolls into the relief area.)
- The ball is not dropped correctly.
A simple way to determine your relief entitlement - if you are "paying" with a penalty eg dropping out of a penalty area or from an unplayable lie, your relief area may be a maximum of two club lengths in radius. If you are obtaining "free" relief eg from abnormal course condition or ground under repair, your relief area is only a maximum of one club length in radius.