What happens if my dropped ball rolls out of the relief area?

If your properly dropped ball comes to rest outside the relief area, drop again. If the second drop also finishes outside, you must place a ball where it first hit the ground on that second drop (Rule 14.3c(2)). No penalty for the drops themselves — just follow the procedure. This page covers the full two-drop-then-place sequence, the exact placement spot, what happens if the placed ball won't stay, and the three exceptions that let you skip the procedure entirely.

The two-drop rule

When you drop correctly — knee height, straight down, in the relief area — and the ball rolls out, that's strike one. You pick it up and drop a second time, same rules. If that second drop also comes to rest outside the relief area, you stop dropping. You now place a ball on the spot where the second drop first touched the ground. If that placed ball won't stay there, you place it again; if it still won't stay, you place it at the nearest spot not nearer the hole where it will stay at rest, still in the relief area.

When you place instead of drop

The placement uses the same procedure as replacing a ball under Rule 14.2b: set it down on the exact spot and let go. You don't get to choose a better lie in the relief area — the spot is fixed by where the second drop first hit. If the relief area is on the putting green, you place on the estimated spot where the ball would have come to rest, not where it first hit. And your honest judgment of that spot is protected: even if video later shows you were slightly off, your reasonable estimate stands — see Is my reasonable judgment accepted even if video later shows I was wrong?.

Penalties if you get it wrong

If you make a stroke at the ball after the first drop rolled out (without re-dropping), you get one penalty stroke if the ball was in the relief area, but the general penalty (two strokes / loss of hole) if it was outside. If you place when you should have dropped, or drop when you should have placed, and then play it, that's the general penalty under Rule 14.7a for playing from a wrong place.

Exceptions that change the answer

• The ball is estimated to have come to rest in a penalty area → You don't have to use this drop-again procedure. You can take penalty-area relief under Rule 17.1d based on where the ball last crossed the edge.
• The ball would have come to rest on the putting green → You place the ball on the estimated spot where it would have stopped, using the replacement procedure (Rule 14.2b).
• The dropped ball is deliberately deflected or stopped by anyone when there was no reasonable chance it would stay in the relief area → No penalty to anyone. The ball counts as one of your two drops and is treated as having come to rest outside the relief area.

Frequently asked questions

What if my first drop rolls out of the relief area?

Pick it up and drop again, same way — knee height, straight down, in the relief area. That first drop doesn't count toward the two-drop limit.

Does this apply to back-on-the-line relief drops too?

Yes. When you take back-on-the-line relief under Rule 19.2b, your dropped ball creates a one club-length relief area. If that ball rolls out, the same two-drop-then-place procedure applies.

What if both drops roll out?

After the second drop finishes outside, you must place a ball on the spot where that second drop first hit the ground. If it won't stay, re-place once; if still won't stay, place at the nearest spot in the relief area not nearer the hole where it will stay.

Can I place the ball anywhere in the relief area after two bad drops?

No. The spot is fixed: where the second drop first touched the ground. You don't get to pick a better lie.

What if I just play the ball after it rolls out the first time?

One penalty stroke if the ball happened to stay in the relief area; general penalty (two strokes / loss of hole) if it was outside. Either way, you should have re-dropped.

Does it matter if the ball hits a rock or my foot before rolling out?

If it hits you or your equipment before hitting the ground, the drop was wrong — re-drop with no limit. If it hits the ground clean then bounces off something and rolls out, that's a proper drop that just finished outside; the two-drop rule applies.

What if multiple players are taking relief at the same time — who plays first?

Once everyone's ball is properly in its relief area, the order of play is based on where each original ball lay before relief, not on the new relief-area positions. See order of play when taking relief for the full rule.