Golf Penalty Strokes and Relief
Golf Penalty Strokes and Relief
What a situation costs and which relief the Rules of Golf allow: one penalty stroke, the general penalty, or none at all. The combinations that catch people out are the ones where the option you want is not available — lateral relief from a yellow penalty area, or anything but stroke and distance for a lost ball.
What this costs, and what you may do
Rules of Golf 17-19A ball lost after a three-minute search, not in a penalty area, taking stroke and distance, in stroke play
What each situation costs, and which options exist
| Situation | Penalty | Relief available | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball in a penalty area, played as it lies | none | play it — grounding the club is allowed since 2019 | 17.1b |
| Ball in a red penalty area, taking relief | one stroke | stroke and distance; back on the line; lateral | 17.1d |
| Ball in a yellow penalty area, taking relief | one stroke | stroke and distance; back on the line — no lateral | 17.1d(3) |
| Ball lost, or out of bounds | one stroke | stroke and distance only | 18.2 |
| Ball unplayable in the general area | one stroke | stroke and distance; back on the line; lateral within two club-lengths | 19.2 |
| Ball unplayable in a bunker, staying in it | one stroke | as above, but the ball must come to rest in the bunker | 19.3a |
| Ball unplayable in a bunker, getting out of it | two strokes in total | back on the line, outside the bunker | 19.3b |
| Ball played from a wrong place | the general penalty | two strokes in stroke play; loss of the hole in match play | 14.7a |
The three levels of penalty, and the one that depends on the format
| Level | Stroke play | Match play |
|---|---|---|
| One-stroke penalty | one stroke added | one stroke added — the same in both formats |
| General penalty | two penalty strokes | loss of the hole |
| Disqualification | out of the competition | out of the competition |
The cost is usually one stroke; the question is which relief exists
Most of golf’s penalties are one stroke, and most arguments about them are not about the stroke at all — they are about which relief the Rules allow. Take a drop the Rules do not provide for and you have played from a wrong place, which costs the general penalty on top of whatever you had already paid. So the useful question is rarely “how much?” but “what may I do?”, and that is what this page is arranged around.
Three Rules cover almost all of it. Rule 17 is penalty areas, Rule 18 is the ball that is lost or out of bounds, and Rule 19 is the unplayable ball. They do not overlap, and the one place people expect them to is the place Rule 19.1 shuts firmly: “Unplayable ball relief is allowed anywhere on the course, except in a penalty area.” A ball you cannot play in a penalty area is Rule 17’s problem and has Rule 17’s options, which is why this page sends you there rather than letting you take an option that does not exist.
The colour of a penalty area is not decoration. Rule 17.1d gives three relief options “each for one penalty stroke”, and the third carries the heading “Lateral Relief (Only for Red Penalty Area)”. From a yellow penalty area there are two options, and a lateral drop is a drop in a wrong place. That single distinction is the commonest honest mistake in the Rules of relief and it is the reason the stakes are painted at all. Note also what Rule 17.1b always allows: “Play the ball as it lies without penalty, under the same Rules that apply to a ball in the general area.” A playable lie in a penalty area costs nothing, and since 2019 you may ground the club and move loose impediments while you are in there.
The lost ball is the harsh one, and it is harsh deliberately. Rule 18.2 says that “If a ball is lost or out of bounds, the player must take stroke-and-distance relief by adding one penalty stroke” — a must, not a may, because there is no reference point to drop near. Rule 18.2a sets the search at three minutes: “A ball is lost if not found in three minutes after the player or their caddie begins to search for it.” That was five minutes before the 2019 edition, which is worth knowing if you learned the game earlier. The remedy is Rule 18.3’s provisional ball, played before you go to look.
The bunker gets an option of its own, and it is the only two-stroke relief in ordinary play. Rule 19.3a requires relief taken in a bunker to stay in the bunker — “The ball must be dropped in and come to rest in the bunker” — which is no help if the whole bunker is hopeless. So Rule 19.3b allows that “for a total of two penalty strokes, the player may take back-on-the-line relief outside the bunker”. Two in total rather than two added to one, and sometimes the cheapest shot on the hole.
One Rule changes its meaning with the format. The general penalty is two strokes in stroke play and loss of the hole in match play — The R&A publishes the three levels of penalty in exactly those words — and in match play that makes a Rules breach one of the three ways Rule 3.2a(1) lets an opponent win a hole outright. The match play status page is where that matters, because a hole lost to a penalty counts the same as a hole lost by six strokes. For what the strokes you have added do to the score on the card, the scoring terms page counts penalty strokes in with the rest, as the Rules do, and the Stableford calculator shows how a two-stroke penalty can cost a point without costing the hole.
Where this page states a Rule of Golf, the Rule is quoted from the edition effective from January 2023, which The R&A and the USGA write and publish jointly and which carries the line “© 2022 R&A Rules Limited and The United States Golf Association.” The two bodies revise the Rules from time to time and issue Clarifications between editions, which The R&A says are “released quarterly”, so a Rule quoted without its edition will be wrong for somebody eventually: every Rule on this page is printed with its number and that edition. A Committee may also modify how a competition is played through the Terms of the Competition, and several of the Rules quoted here say so themselves.
Frequently asked questions
How many penalty strokes for a lost ball?
One, and stroke-and-distance relief is compulsory. Rule 18.2 of the Rules of Golf: “If a ball is lost or out of bounds, the player must take stroke-and-distance relief by adding one penalty stroke”. A ball is lost under Rule 18.2a “if not found in three minutes after the player or their caddie begins to search for it” — the search time was five minutes before the 2019 edition.
Can I take lateral relief from a yellow penalty area?
No. Rule 17.1d heads the lateral option “Lateral Relief (Only for Red Penalty Area)”. From a yellow penalty area there are two relief options, each for one penalty stroke: stroke and distance, or back on the line keeping the point where the ball last crossed the edge between you and the hole.
What does it cost to get out of a bunker when the ball is unplayable?
Two penalty strokes in total, under Rule 19.3b: “for a total of two penalty strokes, the player may take back-on-the-line relief outside the bunker”. For one penalty stroke you may take back-on-the-line or lateral relief, but Rule 19.3a requires that the ball “must be dropped in and come to rest in the bunker”.
What is the general penalty in golf?
Two penalty strokes in stroke play, and loss of the hole in match play. The R&A publishes the three levels as “One-Stroke Penalty”, “General Penalty (Loss of Hole in Match Play, Two-Stroke Penalty in Stroke Play).” and “Disqualification”. It is the only level whose cost depends on the format.
Is a ball in a penalty area always a penalty?
No. Rule 17.1b: “Play the ball as it lies without penalty, under the same Rules that apply to a ball in the general area.” Only relief costs a stroke. Since the 2019 edition you may also ground the club and move loose impediments in a penalty area, which used to be a breach.
Can I declare a ball unplayable in a penalty area?
No. Rule 19.1: “Unplayable ball relief is allowed anywhere on the course, except in a penalty area.” In a penalty area your options are Rule 17’s — play it as it lies, or take one of Rule 17.1d’s relief options for one penalty stroke.
Related calculators
References
- The R&A. Rules of Golf, Rule 17 — “Penalty Areas”, randa.org (read 15 Oct 2026; about 20,000 characters, with two rule diagrams served as images whose contents were not readable and are not relied on). Source for Rule 17.1b on playing the ball as it lies and Rule 17.1d’s three relief options “each for one penalty stroke”, the third of which is headed “Lateral Relief (Only for Red Penalty Area)” — so a yellow penalty area has two options, not three.
- The R&A. Rules of Golf, Rule 18 — “Stroke-and-Distance Relief; Ball Lost or Out of Bounds; Provisional Ball”, randa.org (read 15 Oct 2026; about 16,000 characters, with Diagram 18.2a and Diagram 18.3c served as images). Source for Rule 18.1’s optional stroke-and-distance relief, Rule 18.2’s compulsory version for a ball lost or out of bounds, Rule 18.2a’s three-minute search, and Rule 18.3’s provisional ball. Playing from a wrong place in breach of Rule 18.2 is referred by this Rule to Rule 14.7a.
- The R&A. Rules of Golf, Rule 19 — “Unplayable Ball”, randa.org (read 15 Oct 2026; about 15,000 to 17,000 characters, with the Rule 19.2 and 19.3 diagrams served as images and not relied on). “Unplayable ball relief is allowed anywhere on the course, except in a penalty area.” Rule 19.2’s three options for one penalty stroke, with a relief area of “one club-length” back on the line and “two club-lengths” laterally; Rule 19.3a requiring relief in a bunker to stay in the bunker; and Rule 19.3b’s escape, “for a total of two penalty strokes”.
- The R&A. “Levels of penalties”, Players’ Rule Finder, randa.org (read 15 Oct 2026; about 4,000 characters). The three levels verbatim: “One-Stroke Penalty. This penalty applies in both match play and stroke play under certain Rules”; “General Penalty (Loss of Hole in Match Play, Two-Stroke Penalty in Stroke Play).”; “Disqualification. In both match play and stroke play, you may be disqualified from the competition”. The source for the one place where the same breach costs differently in the two formats.
- USGA and The R&A. The Major Changes in the Rules of Golf for 2019, March 2018 update, PDF read from usga.org on 15 Oct 2026 (about 19,000 characters). The source for the two “it used to be different” statements on this page, each given as a current/new pair. The search time: new “A ball is lost if not found in three minutes”, against the then current “A ball is lost if not found in five minutes.” Grounding the club or moving loose impediments in a penalty area with the ball in that area: new “No penalty”, against the then current “Loss of hole/2-stroke penalty (with exceptions).” It also records that a penalty area “may now cover areas of desert, jungle, lava rock, etc, in addition to areas of water”, where before “The Committee may only mark an area of water as a “water hazard””. Being a 2018 document it describes the 2019 changes as forthcoming; the Rules themselves are quoted on this page from the edition effective January 2023.
- The R&A. Rules of Golf, Rule 3 — “The Competition”, randa.org (read 15 Oct 2026; Rule 3.2 about 5,000 to 5,500 characters, no images within that Rule). Source for Rule 3.2a(1) on winning and 3.2a(2) on tying a hole, 3.2a(3) on winning a match, 3.2a(4) on extending a tied match, and 3.2b on concessions — all quoted in this page’s own prose. One note on headings: the win condition is in 3.2a(3) and not in 3.2a(1), and the Rule nowhere uses the words “up” or “to play” that every scoreboard uses.
- The R&A and the United States Golf Association. Rules of Golf, edition effective January 2023. The R&A’s “About the Rules of Golf” page states the edition is “effective from January 2023 for golfers worldwide” and that Clarifications “will continue to be released quarterly on the R&A and USGA websites” (randa.org, read 15 Oct 2026). A copy of the rulebook PDF was read the same day — front matter “Effective January 2023” and “© 2022 R&A Rules Limited and The United States Golf Association. All rights reserved.”; about 113,500 characters of extracted text, truncated after Rule 8, so Rule 21 was not readable in that copy. Checked specifically for an authorization or licensing clause of the kind the Rules of Handicapping carries: the front matter has none, and the only rights language is the copyright notice.