I took a drop from the fringe and it rolled into the rough – am I stuck with a bad lie?

Oh, for a bit of relief. No, not that kind. You’ve been sending me lots of questions about taking relief and one situation keeps coming up over and again.

It’s most neatly summed up in part of a question I received on email:

“On the slope of a green fringe, with red posts, I take a drop and it rolled back into the rough – within one club length and no nearer the hole. Is this now in play, or am I allowed to keep it on the green fringe?”

At its heart, this is an enquiry about what we perceive as different areas of the course as much as it is about whether we like the lie or not when we’ve taken relief.

So let’s see if we can get the right answer!

Golf ball drop rule: What happens in this situation?

There are some specific areas of the course and you’ll be aware of most of them. They are the teeing area, penalty areas, bunkers and putting greens.

Everything else is part of the general area.

When you’re taking penalty area relief, you can drop in any area of the course except the same penalty area under Rule 17.1d.

You get two club lengths in a red penalty area for lateral relief, and so – in our email scenario – both the fringe and the rough are in the general area.

When the ball is dropped, remains within that relief area, and is no closer to the hole, it is now the ball in play.

Lots of golfers seem to believe when they are taking relief – whatever that is for – they should be entitled to a good lie when they drop. After all, they’ve already been penalised once, haven’t they?

But the Rules don’t see it that way. If you’ve fulfilled the criteria for taking relief, and the drop is carried out in the right way and remains within the relief area, you take what you’re given.

If you were on the short stuff and end up in something a bit thicker, it’s just bad luck.

Got a question for our expert?

Despite the changes to the Rules of Golf in 2019 and 2023, there are still some that leave us scratching our heads. I’ll try to help by featuring the best of your queries in this column.

What do you think about this golf ball drop rule? Let me you what you think, and send me your own rules questions, by emailing me at s.carroll@nationalclubgolfer.com or by leaving us a comment on X.

• NOW READ: How to correctly drop a golf ball

• NOW READ: Got a dodgy drop and want a ‘test run’? Here’s what the rules say