Dropping is how you put a ball back into play when you take relief: you let go of the ball from your hand and play it from its new spot. The 2019 Rules revision changed the procedure from dropping at shoulder height with your arm outstretched to dropping straight down from knee height (Rule 14.3b). The dropped ball must come to rest in the relief area, and if it rolls out twice in a row, you place a ball on the spot where the second drop first touched the ground.
When you need to drop
You drop both for free relief and for penalty relief. Each situation has its own reference point (where you measure from) and relief area size.
| Situation | Penalty | Reference point | Relief area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cart paths, ground under repair, temporary water and other abnormal course conditions in the general area (Rule 16.1) | None | Nearest point of complete relief | One club-length |
| Embedded ball in the general area (Rule 16.3) | None | The spot right behind the ball | One club-length |
| Lateral relief for an unplayable ball (Rule 19.2c) | 1 stroke | The spot of the original ball | Two club-lengths |
| Lateral relief from a red penalty area (Rule 17.1d(3)) | 1 stroke | Where the ball last crossed the edge of the penalty area | Two club-lengths |
| Back-on-the-line relief (Rules 17.1d(2) and 19.2b) | 1 stroke | Where the ball dropped on the line first touches the ground | One club-length |
In every case, the relief area must not be nearer the hole than the reference point. Relief on the putting green, by contrast, is taken by placing a ball, not dropping it (Rule 16.1d). Putting a marked and lifted ball back on its original spot is called replacing, which is also a different procedure from dropping.
The three requirements for a correct drop
Rule 14.3b sets out how a ball must be dropped.
- The player must drop the ball. Your caddie or a playing partner cannot drop it for you.
- Drop it straight down from knee height. You must not throw, spin or roll the ball, and it must not touch your body or equipment before it hits the ground. Knee height means the height of your knee when you are standing upright, although you do not have to be standing when you drop.
- Drop it in the relief area. You can stand either inside or outside the relief area.
Dropping from shoulder height is the pre-2019 method. If you drop from shoulder height out of habit, under the current Rules it is a drop made in the wrong way. The same goes for dropping from any height above the knee, such as waist height.
If you drop the wrong way
- If you notice before you play the ball, drop again correctly without penalty. There is no limit to how many times you can do this, and drops made in the wrong way do not count towards the “two drops” described below.
- If you play the ball without correcting it, you get a one-stroke penalty if the ball was played from inside the relief area. If you play it from outside the relief area, you have played from a wrong place and get the general penalty (two strokes in stroke play).
How to measure the relief area and club-lengths
A club-length is the length of the longest club you have that day, excluding your putter. For most golfers that is the driver. Before 2019 you could measure with any club, so this is another change.
- Push a tee into the ground at the reference point to mark it.
- Lay a club on the ground from that point to check the one or two club-length area. Marking the edge of the area with another tee makes it easier to see.
- Choose a spot that is not nearer the hole and is in the same area of the course (for example, the general area). For free relief, the area must also give you complete relief from the condition.
- Drop the ball from knee height within that area.
Finding the nearest point of complete relief
When you take free relief from something like a cart path, you first find the nearest point of complete relief. This is the spot nearest to where your ball lies, not nearer the hole, where the condition no longer interferes with either your stance or your swing.
A common misconception is that you can choose whichever side of the cart path you like. In fact, the reference point is the closest spot where both your ball and your stance are clear of the path. Because right-handed and left-handed players stand on opposite sides of the ball, the nearest point for the same ball position may be on different sides of the path depending on the player. If the nearest point ends up in the rough or near a tree, you still have to use it.
A practical method is to take the club you expect to use, take your address position where the path no longer interferes, and push a tee into the ground where the ball would be.
When the dropped ball rolls out of the relief area
Under Rule 14.3c, if a correctly dropped ball comes to rest inside the relief area, you have completed taking relief. If it rolls outside, proceed as follows.
- If the ball comes to rest outside the relief area after the first drop, drop a second time.
- If it comes to rest outside again, place a ball on the spot where the second dropped ball first touched the ground.
- If the placed ball does not stay there, place it on the same spot again. If it still does not stay, place it on the nearest spot where it will stay at rest (which may be outside the relief area).
Before 2019, whether to re-drop depended on how the ball rolled, for example more than two club-lengths or nearer the hole. Now the only question is whether the ball is inside or outside the relief area, which leaves far less room for confusion. If the ball hits your foot or equipment after it has touched the ground and stops inside the relief area, there is no penalty and you play it as it lies.
Back-on-the-line drops changed in 2023
The 2023 edition of the Rules changed the procedure for back-on-the-line relief from a penalty area or for an unplayable ball. You now drop the ball on the line going back from the hole through the reference point. The relief area is one club-length in any direction from where the ball first touches the ground, and relief is complete if it comes to rest in that area (not nearer the hole). It does not matter if the ball finishes slightly off the line.
Useful phrases on the course
- “Can I take a drop here?”
- “Where is my nearest point of relief?”
- “Is this free relief?” (no penalty) or “Is that a one-stroke penalty?”
- “Is there a drop zone?” A drop zone is a designated dropping area, often beside a pond, set up under a Local Rule.
The knee-height drop is the same wherever you play in the world. At courses with caddies, your caddie may mark the reference point with a tee for you, but you must make the drop yourself. For the most common situations that call for a drop, see our articles on unplayable balls and penalty areas, and for the rules around cart paths, our article on the 90-degree cart rule.