Relief - Lateral Relief
Lateral Relief (New name in 2019)
Typical use is for a ball entering a Penalty Area, or a ball declared as Unplayable.
Relief is taken from a reference point, in a sector 2 club lengths radius, not nearer the hole.
The reference point is either
The point where the ball entered a penalty area.
If outside a Penalty Area the reference point is where the ball had come to rest when the player declared it to be unplayable.
Note: The relief area must not be closer to the hole than the point where the ball entered the Penalty Area.
When close to the green this can often result in a small relief area that may not allow a full backswing due to brush, trees or very thick grass such as shown in the diagram to the right.
It is the player’s option to take relief from the penalty area.
An alternative is to play without penalty from where the ball lies.
