How to drop a ball correctly when taking relief

You must drop the ball yourself from knee height, straight down without spinning or throwing it, and it must land in the relief area. If you drop it wrong, re-drop as many times as needed — no penalty unless you play it. This procedure applies to every relief situation under Rule 14.3 — whether you're taking free relief from an abnormal course condition, penalty-area relief, or unplayable-ball relief.

The three things every drop must have

First, only you can drop the ball — not your caddie, not your playing partner. Second, hold it at knee height when you're standing up, let go cleanly so it falls straight down, and don't let it touch your body or equipment before it hits the ground. Third, the ball has to land inside the relief area (or on the line for back-on-the-line relief). You can stand anywhere when you drop, but the ball's first contact with the ground must be in the right spot.

What happens if you drop it wrong

If you breach any of those three requirements — someone else drops it, you toss it from shoulder height, it hits your shoe, or it lands outside the relief area — you haven't completed the drop. Just pick it up and drop again the right way. There's no limit to how many times you re-drop, and a bad drop doesn't count toward the two-drop limit before you have to place it. But if you go ahead and hit the ball anyway: one penalty stroke if it was in the relief area, general penalty (two strokes / loss of hole) if it was outside or you placed it when you should have dropped.

When a good drop still isn't good enough

Even a perfect drop can roll out of the relief area. If that happens, drop a second time. If the second drop also comes to rest outside, you then place a ball on the spot where the second drop first touched the ground. The relief area includes everything inside it — tall grass, bushes, bad lies — so if your ball stays in a bush inside the area, it's in play and you can't re-drop just because you don't like the lie.

Exceptions that change the answer

• Your ball is estimated to be in a penalty area → You don't have to take relief under this Rule; you can go straight to penalty-area relief under Rule 17.1d using the estimated crossing point.
• The ball would have come to rest on the putting green → You place the ball on the estimated spot instead of dropping, using the replacement procedures in Rule 14.2b.
• A dropped ball is deliberately deflected or stopped by anyone → See Rule 14.3d for what to do — the drop doesn't count and you re-drop without penalty.
• There's no reasonable chance the ball will stay in the relief area (e.g., steep slope) → If it's deliberately deflected or stopped in that situation, no penalty to anyone and the drop counts as one of your two allowed drops before placing.

Frequently asked questions

Can my caddie drop the ball for me?

No. Only you can drop the ball. The only exception is for players with certain disabilities who have authorized someone else under the modified Rules (Rules 25.2h, 25.3c, 25.4a).

What counts as knee height?

Knee height is the height of your knee when you're standing normally. Not bent over, not crouching — just standing up straight.

Can I spin the ball or give it a little toss so it lands better?

No. The ball must fall straight down with no throw, spin, roll, or any motion that could affect where it stops. Let go cleanly from knee height.

My ball hit my foot after I dropped it. What now?

That's a wrong drop. The ball touched your body before hitting the ground. Pick it up and drop again the right way — no penalty for the bad drop itself.

I dropped correctly but the ball rolled out of the relief area. Do I drop again?

Yes. Drop a second time. If that one also rolls out, you then place a ball where the second drop first hit the ground.