Relief - Stroke and Distance

Stroke & Distance - 1 penalty

Replay the shot from the same spot as the previous one and add one penalty stroke

Can be taken under any circumstance except when a ball is in or virtually certain to be in a penalty area (Rule 18.3).

If a player suspects that their shot will result in needing to take Stroke and Distance Relief they can announce and play a provisional ball to avoid possible delays in returning to the point the original ball was played. Instead a player declares they are playing a Provisional Ball and takes another shot from the same location.

If the original ball is not found then the player continues with the provisional ball now becoming the ball in play.

However, if the player finds their original ball but deems it to be unplayable, the Provisional Ball may not be used to take penalty relief of Stroke and Distance.