Malere Landschaft mit schneebedeckten Bergen im Hintergrund, grünem Golfplatz und ruhigem See. Der Himmel ist klar und blau, umgeben von dichter Vegetation.

Incorrect drop in a penalty area

A player sinks his tee shot on a par 3 into the penalty area. The player determines the entry point and drops his ball in the relief area and plays this ball. So far everything seemed normal. The player finishes his round.

When comparing the scorecard, there was a discussion between the players as to whether the ball came to rest after the drop on or on the red line that delimited the penalty area.

The match officials were contacted. They went with the players to the par 3 and had the situation explained to them. It turned out that the ball had rolled back towards the penalty area after the drop and had just touched the red line.

The ball was therefore back in the penalty area and was not dropped again as stipulated in the rules. The player would therefore have had to drop the ball again because it had rolled back into the penalty area. If this had happened again after the second attempt, the player would have had to place the ball where it touched the ground for the first time on the second attempt.

After questioning the player again, he also confirmed that his ball had touched the red line, but he was not sure whether he had to drop it again. The player therefore decided to play the ball.

Decision of the match committee:
The player was given the basic penalty under Rule 14.7 Playing from the wrong place.

If you would like to know more about the Rules of Golf in the meantime, please contact me directly at hans.kienesberger@golf.at.