Unplayable ball: what are your 3 options?

Your ball is deep in a bush, and you can’t make a swing. Only you decide whether your ball is unplayable (Rule 19.1). It does not have to be truly unplayable. You can do it anywhere on the course except in a penalty area: there, your only relief is under Rule 17.

The three options

Each costs one penalty stroke (Rule 19.2).

1. Back to your last stroke. You play again from where you made your last stroke, see stroke and distance.
2. Back on the line. You draw a line from the flag through your ball, go back on that line as far as you like and drop on the line, see back-on-the-line relief.
3. To the side. You drop within two club-lengths of your ball, no nearer the hole, see lateral relief. It is measured from your ball, not from the edge of the bush. In a big bush, two club-lengths are often too little for real relief, so the line is the better choice.

Ball found?

For the line and the side options, you must have found your ball, because both start from the spot where it lies. Going back to your last stroke always works. If your ball is in a bunker, special rules apply, see the video Unplayable in a bunker.