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2 October 2026 · 10 min read

Golf relief without penalty: ground under repair, paths, loose impediments and obstructions

Remove a stone or a rake, drop the ball from a path or from the blue marking: Rules 15 and 16 in tables, with the nearest point of complete relief in three steps.

Golf relief without penalty: ground under repair, paths, loose impediments and obstructions — post image

Relief in golf means: you may clear something away or play the ball from another spot without a penalty stroke. Under Rule 15 you remove loose impediments such as stones and leaves and movable obstructions such as a rake without penalty. If the ball lies on a path with an artificial surface, in ground under repair, in an animal hole or in a puddle, then under Rule 16 you drop it without penalty in an area of one club-length, unless it lies in a penalty area. This post shows which rule applies to which case and how you take the relief.

Which rule for which case

Your ball liesIn the rulebook it isRuleWhat you do
next to or on a stone, leaf or branchloose impediment15.1remove it
next to a rake, towel or canmovable obstruction15.2remove it
on a path with an artificial surface or touching a sprinkler headimmovable obstruction16.1drop in the relief area
in a marked area of ground under repairground under repair16.1drop in the relief area
in an animal hole or in a puddleanimal hole, temporary water16.1drop in the relief area
in its own pitch-mark in the general areaembedded ball16.3reference point right behind the ball, drop one club-length from it, not nearer the hole

The four cases in Rule 16.1 are together called abnormal course conditions (definition of abnormal course condition). They are not treated as part of the challenge of playing the course, so there is free relief, except in a penalty area. If you search for loose or fixed obstacles, the German rulebook means lose hinderliche Naturstoffe and unbewegliche Hemmnisse (DGV, official Rules of Golf 2023). The short version in two points is in Golf rules for beginners.

Loose impediments: remove them, but the ball stays put

You may remove a loose impediment without penalty anywhere on the course, in any way: by hand, with your foot or a club, with help from others or by breaking off part of it (Rule 15.1a). Anywhere includes the bunker and the penalty area. The definition says what counts as loose:

This is a loose impedimentThis is not
stones, loose grass, leaves, branches and sticksgrass or branches that are growing or attached
dead animals and animal wastenatural objects solidly embedded in the ground
worms, insects and similar animals with their mounds or websnatural objects sticking to the ball
clumps of compacted soil, including aeration plugssand and loose soil
spider webs and a live insect on the balldew, frost and water

Snow and natural ice are, at your option, loose impediments or, on the ground, temporary water (definition of loose impediment). Be careful with an object right next to the ball: if your ball moves while you remove a loose impediment, you replace it and it costs one penalty stroke. The exceptions are a ball on the putting green, in the teeing area and while searching for the ball (Rule 15.1b).

Movable obstructions: rake, towel, can

An obstruction is any artificial object that is not an integral part of the course and does not show a boundary. Examples from the definition: roads and paths with an artificial surface and their borders, buildings, sprinkler heads, drains, walls, golf carts, mowers, waste containers, benches, rakes and flagsticks (definition of obstruction). If an obstruction can be moved with reasonable effort and without damage, it is a movable obstruction. Otherwise it is an immovable one.

You may remove a movable obstruction anywhere without penalty. If your ball moves in the process, there is no penalty and you replace it (Rule 15.2a). The exception is the tee-markers: you do not move them when you play from the teeing area. If the ball lies in or on the obstruction, for instance on a towel, you lift it, remove the obstruction and drop it one club-length from the point right underneath, not nearer the hole. On the putting green you place it on that point.

Path, sprinkler, animal hole: the nearest point of complete relief

With immovable obstructions, ground under repair, animal holes and temporary water you first check whether they interfere. They do if your ball is in, on or touching the condition, if they interfere with your intended stance or swing or, only on the putting green, if they lie on your line of play (Rule 16.1a). Then you proceed like this:

StepWhat you do
Find the pointYou estimate the point where your ball would lie: nearest to the original spot, not nearer the hole, in the general area, and with no interference from the condition for the stroke you would have made from the original spot. For that you fix the club, stance, swing and line of play; you do not have to make the stroke (definition of nearest point of complete relief).
Measure the areaThe relief area reaches one club-length from that point, not nearer the hole, in the general area, and you must get complete relief from the condition (Rule 16.1b).
DropYou drop the original ball or another ball in the area (Rule 14.3). How that works is in Dropping a golf ball.

A club-length is the length of the longest club in your bag, other than the putter (definition of club-length). If you play from the wrong place, the general penalty applies: two penalty strokes in stroke play, loss of the hole in match play.

Blue or white: how to recognise ground under repair

Ground under repair is any part of the course the Committee declares to be so, by marking it or otherwise. No colour is prescribed, but white or blue stakes or lines are commonly used. Yellow and red should not be used for it, to avoid confusion with penalty areas. How the course is marked is stated in the Local Rules (R&A, Committee Procedures, Section 2). So white can mean two things:

MarkingWhat it usually meansWhat you do
white or blue stakes or lines around an areaground under repairrelief under Rule 16.1
white stakes or lines at the edge of the coursethe boundary of the course, out of boundsball out of bounds: Ball out of bounds
yellow or red stakes or linespenalty areaRule 17, not Rule 16.1
stakes with a green topno play zonea ball in it must not be played as it lies (Rule 16.1f)

For a ball at the marking, the edge matters. With a painted line the edge is its outside edge, and the line itself is part of the ground under repair. If your ball lies on the line, it touches the ground under repair, and that is interference (Rule 16.1a). With stakes the edge runs between the outside points of the stakes at ground level, and the stakes belong to it (definition of ground under repair). A painted line is not an obstruction, a stake that shows the edge is.

When there is no relief, or only another kind

Your ball liesWhat applies
in the general areafree relief in the general area (Rule 16.1b)
in a bunkerfree in the bunker, or for one penalty stroke behind the bunker on the line going back (Rule 16.1c)
on the putting greenyou place the ball on the nearest point of complete relief, on the green or in the general area (Rule 16.1d)
in a penalty areano relief under Rule 16.1, only under Rule 17

There is also no relief if the interference exists only because you choose a club, stance, swing or direction of play that is clearly unreasonable. And if the ball lies in a bush so that you cannot play it, no free relief helps, but Rule 19 does: unplayable ball. The rules in the bunker and the stroke itself are described in Out of the bunker. If you have not found the ball but it is known or virtually certain that it lies in the condition, you take relief from the point where it last crossed the edge (Rule 16.1e). If you reasonably believe your ball lies in a condition with relief and cannot tell without lifting it, you may lift it if you mark the spot first and do not clean the ball, except on the putting green (Rule 16.4). If water stands on the ground after rain, it can be temporary water: it is not enough for the ground to be wet or soft (definition of temporary water), more in Golf in rain and cold.

What this means for you, and where to practise

Your ball lies on the asphalt path next to the fairway. The path is an immovable obstruction, so there is free relief. You find the point in the general area that is nearest to your ball, not nearer the hole, where the path interferes with neither ball nor stance nor swing, and you drop within one club-length. That costs no penalty stroke. If a branch lies next to the ball instead, you remove it and stay where you are.

In the simulator you practise the stroke, on the course the rule comes on top. The map shows you venues with a simulator by canton, and golf simulator for beginners explains how the first session works. The directory lists 126 venues, 110 indoor venues and 16 ranges, in 21 cantons (as of 2 October 2026, our own entries).

Frequently asked questions

What is ground under repair in golf?

Ground under repair is any part of the course the Committee declares to be so, by marking it or otherwise. If your ball lies in it or it interferes with stance or swing, there is free relief under Rule 16.1, except in a penalty area. White or blue stakes or lines are common.

How do I take relief from ground under repair?

You find the nearest point of complete relief: nearest to your ball, not nearer the hole, with free stance and swing. Then you drop within one club-length of that point, not nearer the hole and in the general area. It costs no penalty stroke (Rule 16.1b).

Do I get relief if my ball lies on a path?

Yes, if the path has an artificial surface. Then it is an immovable obstruction, and you may take free relief (Rule 16.1) as soon as your ball lies on it or the path interferes with stance or swing. You may also play the ball as it lies.

May I remove a stone next to my ball?

Yes. A stone is a loose impediment that you may remove anywhere on the course without penalty (Rule 15.1a), including in a bunker. If your ball moves while you do it, you replace it and it costs one penalty stroke, unless it lay on the putting green.

What is the difference between a loose impediment and a movable obstruction?

A loose impediment is an unattached natural object such as a stone or leaf (Rule 15.1), a movable obstruction an artificial object such as a rake (Rule 15.2). You remove both without penalty. If the ball moves, only removing the loose impediment costs a penalty stroke.

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