Penalty Areas: How To Proceed Under Rule 17

Here are your options when it comes to penalty areas.

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Neil Tappin
By Neil Tappin
last updated

Nobody wants to hit their ball into a penalty area but if you do, what are your options? Here we will look at penalty areas and how to proceed under Rule 17.

Penalty Areas: How To Proceed Under Rule 17

When the latest set of golf rules revisions were introduced at the beginning of 2019, the phrase ‘water hazard’ was replaced by ‘penalty area’.

In a bid to make the rules easier for players to understand and faster to implement, golf’s ruling bodies changed the way golfers should proceed whenever they hit the ball into these marked areas. In this article, we will look at penalty areas and how to proceed under Rule 17.

Penalty Areas: How To Proceed Under Rule 17

If you hit the ball into a penalty area marked with red stakes or lines, you have four options, but it's important to remember that the final one - two club-lengths from where it last crossed the edge - is not available to you if the penalty area is marked with yellow stakes or lines.

The first is certainly the easiest to explain. You can play the ball as it lies without having to add a penalty shot to your score. Don’t forget that you can also now ground your club behind the ball and remove loose impediments.

Related: Golf Rules Explained - Penalty Areas (opens in new tab)

Penalty Areas: How to proceed under Rule 17

Alternatively, you can go back to where you hit your last shot from and play it again. This comes with a one shot penalty but depending on the specific situation you are facing, this might be your best option. Don’t forget to drop the ball from knee-height!

Your next option is to identify the point where the ball last crossed into the penalty area and, keeping that spot between you and the flag, you can go back as far as you want and drop the ball.

Related: 8 Rules Golfers Break Without Realising (opens in new tab)

In this situation, it is worth remembering that you can effectively choose your yardage for your next shot. So, for instance, if the penalty area you are taking relief from is close to the green, you might be best served by going back to a yardage from where you can make a full swing. Having to play a delicate half-pitch over a ditch can often be a recipe for disaster!

The third relief option - only available from red penalty areas - is to drop the ball within two club lengths of where it last crossed into the penalty area.

So imagine you have driven your ball through a dogleg and the ball has run into a ditch. In this instance it might well be best to find the point it crossed, mark out two club-lengths (no nearer the hole) and go from there. Don’t forget that in the rules of golf a club-length is the longest club you have in your bag that day, excluding the putter.

One thing worth mentioning here is that under the pre-2019 rules, you had the option, in this scenario, to drop the ball on the opposite side of penalty area (or water hazard as it was known). This is now no longer an option.

Related: 10 Golf Rules Myths (opens in new tab)

The rules relating to penalty areas and how to proceed under rule 17 might seem complicated but hopefully, this article reveals that your options are fairly straightforward. Try to think clearly about your best option and you should be able to proceed with your score in tact.

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Neil Tappin
Neil Tappin
Digital Editor

In his current role, Neil is responsible for testing drivers and golf balls. Having been a part of the Golf Monthly team for over 15 years and playing off a handicap of 3, he has the experience to compare performance between models, brands and generations. For 2022 he thinks the main trend in drivers is: "In a word, consistency. Whilst all the brands are talking about ball speed (and the new drivers are certainly long), my biggest finding has been how much more consistent the ball flights are. Mishits don't seem to be causing the same level of drop-off or increase in the spin numbers. This means that more shots seem to be flying the way you want them to!" As far as golf balls are concerned the biggest development is in the, "three piece, non-Tour, urethane-covered section. For regular golfers, these models offer superb performance at both ends of the bag without denting your wallet quite as much as the premium Tour-played options."


Originally working with the best coaches in the UK to produce instruction content, he is now the brand's Digital Editor and covers everything from Tour player interviews to gear reviews. In his time at Golf Monthly, he has covered equipment launches that date back well over a decade. He clearly remembers the launch of the Callaway and Nike square drivers as well as the white TaylorMade driver families, such as the RocketBallz! If you take a look at the Golf Monthly YouTube channel, you'll see his equipment videos dating back over a decade! He has also conducted 'What's In The Bag' interviews with many of the game's best players like Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm. Over the years, Neil has tested a vast array of products in each category and at drastically different price-points. 

Neil is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade Stealth Plus Fairway Wood: Titleist TSR2 Hybrid: Titleist TS3 Irons (4-9): Mizuno JPX 919 Forged Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 46˚, 50˚, 54˚, 60˚ Putter: Odyssey Triple Track Ten Ball: Titleist Pro V1X

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