My ball from a penalty area landed back in a penalty area, what are my options?

You can play the ball as it lies with no penalty, or take relief for one penalty stroke. Relief options include stroke-and-distance, back-on-the-line, lateral relief for a red penalty area, or playing from where you hit the last shot outside the penalty area.

Play it as it lies

If your ball ends up in the same penalty area or a different one after you played from a penalty area, you're allowed to just hit it from there. No penalty, no dropping, no drama. Rule 17.1b still applies, so you can ground your club, take practice swings touching the ground, and remove loose impediments — same as before.

Take relief for one penalty stroke

If you don't want to play it from the penalty area, you have a menu of relief options, each costing one penalty stroke. You can go back to where you hit the previous shot (stroke-and-distance), drop back on the line from the hole through where the ball last crossed into this penalty area, or — if it's a red penalty area — drop within two club-lengths of that crossing point, no closer to the hole. The reference point for back-on-the-line and lateral relief is where the ball last crossed the edge of the penalty area it's currently in.

Extra option: replay from outside the penalty area

Instead of the normal relief options, you can choose to play the original ball or another ball from where you made your last stroke from outside a penalty area. This is handy if your last shot was from the fairway or tee and you'd rather just replay from there. It still costs one penalty stroke, same as the other relief choices.

Exceptions that change the answer

• Your ball in the penalty area is interfered with by a no-play zone → You must take relief — you cannot play the ball as it lies. Follow the no-play zone relief procedure in Rule 17.1e instead.

Frequently asked questions

Can I drop the ball in the penalty area and then change my mind?

Yes. If you take stroke-and-distance relief by dropping in the penalty area and don't like where it lands, you can take further relief outside the penalty area for one more penalty stroke — two total.

What if the penalty area is yellow, not red?

You still have stroke-and-distance and back-on-the-line relief for one penalty stroke. Lateral relief (two club-lengths) is only available for red penalty areas.

Does it matter if it's the same penalty area or a different one?

No. Rule 17.2a applies whether the ball comes back to the same penalty area or a different one. Your options are identical either way.

What if I drop in the penalty area, don't play it, and then take relief outside?

That's two penalty strokes total: one for the initial stroke-and-distance relief, and one more for taking relief outside the penalty area.

Can I go straight to relief outside the penalty area without dropping in it first?

Yes. You can skip dropping in the penalty area and go directly to back-on-the-line or lateral relief outside, but it still costs two penalty strokes total.