Rules

What to do when something happens on the course, rule by rule.

• Guide

  Golf rules for your first rounds

  Carry no more than 14 clubs and play the ball as it lies. Most of the rest comes down to four situations, each with a set answer. A lost or out-of-bounds ball costs one stroke and a replay. A ball in a penalty area or an unplayable ball costs one stroke and a drop. Cart paths and other course conditions get a free drop.

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  Out of Bounds and Lost Ball Rules in Golf

  A ball is out of bounds only when all of it is past the boundary, and it's lost if you don't find it within 3 minutes of starting to look. Either way, add one penalty stroke and play again from where you hit the last shot. Lose your tee shot and you're hitting your third shot, from the tee. Many courses also let you drop near where it was lost for two penalty strokes.

• Rule

  Provisional Ball Rule in Golf: When and How

  If your ball might be lost outside a penalty area or might be out of bounds, you can hit a provisional ball to save going back. Say "provisional" before you hit it. If you find the first ball in bounds within 3 minutes, play it and pick up the provisional. If not, the provisional is your ball, with one penalty stroke added.

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  Golf Penalty Areas: Red and Yellow Stakes Explained

  Penalty areas are water and other areas marked with red or yellow stakes or lines. You can play the ball as it lies for no penalty, or take relief for one stroke. For yellow, play again from where you last hit or drop back on a line from the hole through where the ball crossed the edge. Red adds a third option, a drop within two club-lengths of where it crossed.

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  Unplayable Ball Rule in Golf: Your 3 Options

  You can call your ball unplayable anywhere except in a penalty area, and you're the only one who decides. It costs one penalty stroke. Then either play again from where you last hit, drop back on a line from the hole through the ball, or drop within two club-lengths of the ball, no nearer the hole. In a bunker, the last two drops must stay in the bunker, unless you take two strokes to drop back outside it.

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  How to Drop a Golf Ball: Knee Height and Relief Areas

  Hold the ball at knee height and let it fall straight down, without throwing or spinning it. It must land in the relief area and stay there. If it rolls out, drop again; if it rolls out a second time, place it where it first hit the ground on the second drop. A club-length is your longest club other than the putter.

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  Cart Path Relief in Golf: Free Drop and How to Take It

  Cart paths, ground under repair, temporary water (puddles) and animal holes get free relief when they touch your ball or get in the way of your stance or swing. Find the nearest spot, no nearer the hole, where they no longer interfere at all, and drop within one club-length of it. That spot can be on either side of the path.

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  Embedded Ball Rule in Golf: Free Relief for a Plugged Ball

  If your ball is plugged in its own pitch-mark in the general area, fairway or rough, with part of it below ground level, you get free relief. Drop within one club-length of the spot right behind the ball, no nearer the hole. There's no embedded ball relief in a bunker or a penalty area, and none in sand outside the fairway.