How do you drop a golf ball after establishing relief?
Drop a golf ball from knee height after establishing relief, and distinguish an incorrect drop from a correct drop that finishes outside the relief area.
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Establish permission and the option first
Rule 14.3 describes the procedure; it does not decide whether your situation qualifies for relief. First establish the applicable Rule, chosen option, any penalty and the required location. Do not turn every awkward lie into an assumed free drop or use one universal club-length measurement.
This guide covers ordinary player-operated dropping. Modified procedures for players with disabilities and other special cases require their applicable provisions. For a concrete entitlement scenario, use cart-path relief or the relevant scenario guide.
Separate the release from the result
Under the ordinary procedure, the player must release the ball; a caddie or another person cannot do it instead. Release it straight down from standing-knee height, without throwing or spinning it and without it touching the player or equipment before ground contact. The player need not stand upright while releasing it. Rule 14.3a permits either the original ball or another ball.
Drop where the applicable option requires. Back-on-the-line relief requires a drop on the line; the landing point then establishes its relief area under that option. Do not substitute an ordinary premeasured lateral area for it.
After a correct drop, the ball must come to rest in the required relief area. A poor lie inside it is not, by itself, permission to repeat the drop. Clarification 14.3c/1 explains that growing vegetation is part of the area too.
Two different reasons to drop again
| What happened | Ordinary next step |
|---|---|
| Release or required dropping location was wrong | Correct the drop; this attempt does not count toward the two correct drops |
| Correct drop came to rest outside the required area | Drop correctly a second time |
| Second correct drop also came to rest outside | Place a ball where that second drop first contacted the ground, following the applicable placing procedure |
“Ground” can include vegetation: Clarification 14.3c(2)/1 explains first contact with a bush. If a placed ball will not remain there, Rule 14.2e supplies the next procedure; do not choose a convenient patch or press the ball into the surface.
The 2 October 2026 additional clarifications, Rule 14.3b(4)/1, address a common back-on-the-line mistake: dropping beside the line is not cured by the ball subsequently rolling onto it. Correct the mistake before playing; do not judge the drop solely from its finishing position.
A limited teaching example
Assume a valid relief option and area have already been established, with no deflection or special circumstance. Your correct first drop rolls outside the area. Your correct second drop also rolls outside. The next action is placement at the second drop’s first contact point, not a third ordinary drop wherever the turf looks best. This is a fictional procedure example; it does not establish entitlement or a penalty calculation.
Stop when the ordinary assumptions fail
Accidental contact after ground contact differs from an incorrect release, while deliberate stopping/deflection has its own Rule 14.3d provisions. Those cases are outside the example’s assumptions. Consult the Rule or Committee before acting if the ball was deliberately stopped or you are unsure what happened.
This guide does not adjudicate a stroke already made after a mistake. Rule 14.5 addresses correcting procedural mistakes before playing; the consequences after playing depend on the circumstances. Preserve the facts using the situation checklist. A ball that must be replaced on its original spot follows a different procedure; see marking and replacing on the green.
Sources and scope
Checked 17 October 2026 against the 2023 Rule 14 body, relevant written clarifications and current additional-clarifications PDF. The PDF’s title/update header and Rule 14 section were inspected through local text extraction after the web viewer failed. These related joint-rule sources are not independent professional approval. The explanatory table is scoped to ordinary cases, not every deflection, modification or penalty outcome.