Nearest point of relief?

A golf club had a safety net on the tee. A ball played from another tee landed so close to this safety net that it hindered the swing for the next shot - hence penalty-free relief. The nearest place where the net would not have interfered with the swing was on the other side of the net. From that spot, however, the net would have been in the path of the ball and the player would therefore hardly have been able to play over it. To my surprise, the local referee explained that there is a general rule that you "must not cross the obstacle" when free-dropping and that the nearest spot should therefore be chosen so that it is in front of the net.
I haven't read about such a rule yet - is there anything?

Closest point of complete relief
The point of reference when claiming non-penalised relief due to unusual space conditions (Rule 16.1), a hazard from an animal (Rule
16.2), a false green (Rule 13.1f), or a no-play zone (Rule 16.1f, 17.1e) or under certain course rules.
It is the estimated point at which the ball would lie that
-is closest to theoriginal location of the ball, but no closer to the hole than theoriginal location,
-is within the prescribed area of the course, and
-where the circumstance does not affect the shot that the player would have made from the original spot if the circumstance did not exist there.
were not present.

In this case, the reference point is the nearest point of complete relief, which is on the other side of the net. It doesn't matter if the player can play over the net or not he has taken relief from the immovable obstruction and that is presumably the spot closest to the ball and not closer to the hole. The way you described it to me, any other position for the ball would be wrong, especially in front of the net.

However, he also has the option of playing the ball from the spot where it came to rest or declaring the ball unplayable.

Relief area:

The area in which a player must drop a ball when claiming relief under a rule. Each relief rule requires that the player
use a specific relief area, the size and location of which is based on the following three factors:
-Reference point: the point from which the size of the relief area is measured.
-Size of the relief area measured from the reference point: The relief area extends one or two club lengths from the reference point,
but with certain restrictions:
-Restrictions on the location of the relief area: The location of the relief area
can be limited in one or more ways so that, for example
" it is only located in certain defined areas of the course, for example only in the terrain or not in a bunker or penalty area,
" it is not closer to the hole than the reference point or it must be outside a penalty area or a bunker from which relief is claimed, or
" there is no interference from the circumstance (as defined in the applicable rule) from which relief is claimed.
If club lengths are used to determine the size of a relief area, the player may measure directly over a ditch, hole or the like and directly over or through the relief area.
similar and directly over or through an object (e.g. tree, fence, wall, tunnel, drainage or sprinkler head), but may not measure through bumps.


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