Can you take relief in the fairway if your ball is in the rough?
Do the Rules of Golf ever allow you to move from the rough and drop in the fairway if your ball is in the general area?
Hands up. How many of you think the fairway and the rough are two different parts of the golf course?
I had a recent ruling where a player was hindered by an abnormal course condition in the first cut of rough. Their nearest point of complete relief, and one club length relief area, would have allowed them to take their ball out of that longer stuff and drop in the fairway.
They asked me if they could do that, and it made me wonder how many of you out there have this on your minds when you find yourselves in a similar position.
The answer? Yes, you can. In the general area, the Rules of Golf do not distinguish between the fairway and the rough.
While Rule 16.1b puts limits on the location of the relief area for taking relief from an abnormal course condition in the general area, it only says it must be in the general area, can’t be nearer the hole than the reference point, and there “must be complete relief from all interference by the abnormal course condition”.
Drop in the fairway? Just keep an eye on those Local Rules!
The general area is defined in the Rules of Golf as being the area of the course that covers “all areas of the course” except for the teeing area of the hole being played from, bunkers, penalty areas, and the putting green of the hole being played.
The issue is complicated, I think, by various Local Rules that do make a distinction between the short and heavy stuff. You’ll often find, for example, the winter rule for preferred lies specifies “closely mown areas”.
It’s always worth just making sure before you take an ill-advised drop and find you’ve played from a wrong place.
But if the Rules do allow you to grab a slice of good fortune, take it! God knows we get enough bad breaks in this infuriating, yet mesmerising, game.
Now have your say
What you do think? Should you be able to give yourself a drop in the fairway if it’s allowed under the Rules of Golf? Let me know with a tweet.
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
