USGA Rules Interpretations
Rule 16.1c - Relief from Abnormal Course Condition in a Bunker
If your ball is in a bunker and there is interference by an abnormal course condition on the course, you may take either:
- Free Relief: Under Rule 16.1b, except that:
- The nearest point of complete relief and the relief area must be in the bunker.
- If there is no such nearest point of complete relief in the bunker, you may still take this relief, by using the point of maximum available relief in the bunker as the reference point.
- Penalty Relief by Playing from Outside Bunker (Back-On-the-Line Relief): For one penalty stroke, you may drop a ball as shown in Diagram 16.1c.
Taking a proper drop - Ball Won't Stay in Relief Area When Dropped
- Q. My ball won't stay in the area I need to drop it in – can I place it?
- A. You must try two times to drop your ball in the relief area. If you have tried twice by dropping your ball correctly from knee height and into the relief area but it won't stay in the relief area, you may then place your ball where it first touched the relief area on the second drop (see Rule 14.3c(2)).