Stroke And Distance: Yellow Penalty Play Options

Golf courses have two types of penalty areas, distinguished by colour: yellow and red. Penalty areas are usually bodies of water, but some rules committees make exceptions. If your ball is in a yellow penalty area, you have two relief options: stroke and distance and back on the line. Stroke and distance relief means playing your next shot as near as possible to the original shot. Back on the line relief means dropping your ball on a reference line between the flagstick and the point where the ball last crossed into the penalty area.

Yellow penalty areas are marked with yellow lines or stakes and offer two relief options

Golf courses have two types of penalty areas, marked by either yellow or red lines or stakes. Yellow penalty areas offer two relief options. The first option is to take "stroke and distance" relief. This involves playing your next shot as near as possible to the original shot, effectively replaying the stroke and taking a distance penalty. The second option is to take "back on the line" relief. This involves dropping your ball on a reference line between the flagstick and the point where the ball last crossed into the penalty area. You can drop the ball as far back as you want on this line, as long as you keep the penalty area between you and the hole. This option is often the best strategy as it allows you to choose the yardage for your next shot.

Penalty areas are designated by golf committees and are usually bodies of water or other areas where balls easily get lost or are unable to be played. They can also include areas that do not contain water, such as deserts, jungles, or lava rock fields. Penalty areas are marked with lines or stakes, and the colour (red or yellow) indicates the relief options available to the player. While yellow penalty areas offer two relief options, red penalty areas offer an additional "lateral relief" option on top of the two yellow penalty area options.

When your ball lies in a yellow penalty area, you have the option to play it as it lies or take relief outside the penalty area for one penalty stroke. If you choose to take relief, you can either play from where your last stroke was made ("stroke and distance") or take "back-on-the-line" relief. It's important to note that you must be certain or virtually certain that your ball is in a penalty area. If you are not sure, you must treat it as a lost ball and take a "stroke and distance" penalty.

Red penalty areas are marked with red lines or stakes and offer three relief options

If your ball is in a red penalty area, you have the following three relief options, each incurring a penalty of one stroke:

• You may take "stroke and distance" relief by playing your next shot from where your previous shot was made.
• You may take "back on the line" relief. Do this by going back as far as you want on a line between the hole and the point where the ball last crossed into the penalty area.
• You may take "lateral relief". With lateral relief, you may drop your ball within two club-lengths of where the ball last crossed into the red penalty area. You may never drop your ball closer to the hole than the reference point.

Penalty areas are one of the five defined areas of a golf course and usually contain water. However, some rules committees make exceptions, and a penalty area may be defined as any area where balls easily get lost or cannot be played.

Your ball is in a penalty area when any part of it lies inside the edge of the penalty area. Your ball is also considered to be in a penalty area if it is above or below the edge of the penalty area.

If your ball is in a penalty area, you can play it as it lies or take penalty relief

If your ball is in a penalty area, you have two options: you can either play it as it lies or take penalty relief.

Penalty areas are defined as either red or yellow. This distinction affects the player's relief options. A player may stand in a penalty area to play a ball outside the penalty area, including after taking relief from the penalty area.

If you choose to play the ball as it lies, you can play it without penalty, under the same rules that apply to a ball in the general area. This means there are no specific rules limiting how a ball may be played from a penalty area. You can ground your club behind the ball, or take practice swings that touch the ground.

If you choose to take penalty relief, you can play a ball from outside the penalty area by taking penalty relief. For either red or yellow penalty areas, you can play from where your last stroke was made (stroke and distance) or take back-on-the-line relief by going back as far as you like on the line between the hole and where your ball last crossed the edge of the penalty area. The spot on the line where the ball first touches the ground when dropped creates a relief area that is one club-length in any direction from that point. In a red penalty area, you have one additional relief option: you can take lateral relief within two club-lengths of where your ball last crossed into the penalty area.

If your ball is lost in a penalty area, you may take penalty relief

Penalty areas are defined as either red or yellow. If your ball is lost in a penalty area, you may take penalty relief. This means that for one penalty stroke, you can use specific relief options to play a ball from outside the penalty area.

If your ball has not been found and it is known or virtually certain that it came to rest in a penalty area, you may take penalty relief. Once you put another ball in play under penalty of stroke and distance, your original ball is no longer in play and must not be played. This is true even if your original ball is then found on the course before the end of the three-minute search time.

If it is not known or virtually certain that your ball came to rest in a penalty area and the ball is lost, you must take stroke-and-distance relief. This means that you must play the original ball or another ball from where the previous stroke was made.

If your ball is in a penalty area, you have the following relief options, each for one penalty stroke:

• Stroke-and-distance relief: Play the original ball or another ball from where the previous stroke was made.
• Back-on-the-line relief: Drop the original ball or another ball outside the penalty area, keeping the estimated point where the original ball last crossed the edge of the penalty area between the hole and the spot where the ball is dropped.

It is important to note that if your ball is in a no-play zone in a penalty area, you must take penalty relief and cannot play the ball as it lies.

If your ball is in a yellow penalty area, you can take back on the line relief

If your ball is in a yellow penalty area, you have two relief options, each for one penalty stroke. You can either play the ball as it lies or take relief outside the penalty area.

If you choose to take relief, you have two options:

• You may take "stroke and distance" relief by playing your next shot as near as possible to the original shot.
• You may take "back on the line" relief. Do this by dropping your ball on a reference line between the flagstick and the point where the ball last crossed into the penalty area. You can drop the ball as far back as you want on this line, but you must always keep the penalty area between you and the hole.

This second option is often the best choice, as it allows you to choose the yardage for your next shot.

Frequently asked questions