Golf Rule 17 Explained: What to Do When Your Ball Finds Water (or Worse)

Ball in the water? Or buried in tall grass? Rule 17 has you covered.
John breaks down what counts as a penalty area, the difference between red and yellow stakes, and how to take proper relief—without making things worse.

🏌️ Know the rules. Respect the game.

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What do you do when your ball ends up in the water or sometimes even worse? That’s where rule number 17 comes in. Hey golfers, John here with You Think You Know the Rules presented by our friends at Tea Time Golf Pass. Now, what counts as a penalty area? Penalty areas include water hazards like ponds, lakes, rivers, or creeks. But they can also be dry like tall grass, rocks, or other areas that are marked with red or yellow stakes or even paint. So, what are your options? So, if your golf ball enters a penalty area and you can’t or don’t want to play it as it lies, you do have options all with one penalty stroke. So, your first option, play it as it lies. If it’s playable and you want to go for it, no problem. Just remember that you can’t ground your club if it’s in the hazard. Option number two, stroke and distance relief. So, replay your last shot from the same spot. Your third option, back on the line relief. So, go back as far as you’d like, keeping the point where the ball entered the penalty area between you and the flag. And option number four, lateral relief. So this is only for red stakes. So drop within two club lengths of where the ball last crossed into the penalty area. No closer to the hole. Now what’s the difference between yellow and red stakes? Yellow there are two options. Stroke and distance and back on that same line. Red you have three options. The two above plus lateral relief. So knowing which color you’re dealing with does matter, especially under pressure. So here’s a pro tip. Don’t guess. Choose the relief that gives you your best next shot. And always take the full relief, not partial. So, know the rules and respect the game. And don’t forget to use code rules at checkout to get your tea time golf