What happens if you drop the ball outside the relief area?

The situation

You take relief, but you dropped the ball an inch or two outside the measured relief area — either by misjudging the boundary or by measuring the one club length from the wrong reference point. You then play the shot.

The rule

Under Rule 14.7a, playing from a wrong place is a general penalty: 2 strokes in stroke play, loss of hole in match play. If the error was a serious breach (the wrong place gave you a significant advantage), you must correct the mistake before finishing the hole. If you don't correct a serious breach before completing the hole, you are disqualified. Minor breaches — where the wrong place is barely different from the right place — are penalised with the 2 strokes but do not require correction. If you notice the wrong drop before playing, just re-drop with no penalty.

Real example

You take free relief from an immovable obstruction and drop the ball. You measure again and realise the ball landed six inches outside the one-club-length relief area. You haven't played yet — re-drop, no penalty. If you already played: add 2 strokes and continue from where the ball ended up.

What to do on the course

• Always measure the relief area carefully before dropping
• If you dropped outside and haven't played: re-drop inside the correct area, no penalty
• If you played from outside the area: add 2 strokes, no need to replay unless it was a serious breach
• When in doubt about the boundary, mark the outer edge of the relief area with a tee before dropping

Penalty

No penalty if corrected before playing. 2-stroke penalty (or loss of hole in match play) if played from outside the relief area.