The Gaffers - Relief - Nearest Point

Nearest Point of Relief (Complete, or Maximum Available)

Finding the Nearest Point of Relief is used to begin the resulting position for a ball in an abnormal ground condition. In such cases there is free relief available as an option. The condition could be in any area, but relief must be taken in the same area. e.g. General Area, Bunker, Green.

Note that the 'complete relief' only applies to the condition that is interfering and not all interference. So for example, the nearest point of relief for a cart path could cause you to have to take a stance in rough, or even a penalty area, or your swing could be impeded bushes or trees. It may be behind a tree, for example, but it is the nearest point of relief from the cart path. For these and other reasons, it is always advisable to consider whether Free Relief is a better choice than playing the ball where it lies, or even taking penalty relief from an unplayable lie. There are more options in penalty relief (Back on a Line from the flag through the position of the ball, lateral relief, etc)

Prior to taking relief (leaving the ball where it is) you should determine the reference point and the relief area in order to make an informed decision about whether free relief is the right thing to do

The club that would be used in making the shot is the one that must be used to position the reference point. The club used for the is therefore not normally the longest non-putter club in your bag.
Mark the reference point it with a tee (for example).
Having found and marked the reference point, you can now use your longest non-putter club to define the relief area. The relief area is a segment of a circle described by your longest club centred on the reference point, that is not closer to the hole and is in the same "area"as the ball came to rest (general area; bunker; green). It is the area where the dropped ball must come to rest.
So if a club length area, not nearer the hole, can partially extend into a Penalty Area (PA), Ground Under Repair (GUR) or No Play Zone (NPZ), the relief area cannot include that PA, GUR, or NPZ.

If there is no 'relief' area possible, then the point chosen is not the correct Nearest Point of Relief.

Once you decide to proceed with relief, you now pick up your ball and make a drop into the relief area you have identified.

As with all 'drops' if the dropped ball does not remain in the relief area, it must be dropped again. If it again fails to remain in the relief area it is placed at the point where it hit the ground on that second drop.

When relief if being taken, and the ball ends up such that your stance (with the club to be used), would have to be in a No Play Zone, then you may subsequently take relief from that condition. Note that 'closer to the hole' etc now applies to the position where the ball had been dropped.

When relief is being taken and the ball is dropped in a bunker or on the green, the player is allowed to accept “Maximum Available Relief” instead of requiring “Complete Relief”. Note that when a 'drop' is to take place on a green the ball is actually 'placed' rather than dropped.

Complete Relief means that the condition does not interfere with the stroke the player would have made from the original spot if the condition was not there whereas Maximum Available Relief allows the player to accept a less than ideal position.

In this example of temporary water on the green, the nearest point of Complete Relief for a left-handed player is shown.

If the water stretched all across the green, between the ball and the hole, the point of maximum available relief may be based on the line of play where the ball will need to go through the shallowest or shortest stretch of temporary water.

Note that added in 2019 - if the abnormal condition is in a bunker, the player may elect to take relief back on the line outside the bunker with the addition of a penalty stroke.