Rules · Tip
Free Relief for a Plugged Ball
Part of our rules programs. Build a program with it
Your ball plugs in the hole it made on landing. Under Rule 16.3, you get free relief if it's in the general area. That means the fairway and rough. Not bunkers or penalty areas. Mark the spot and lift the ball. You can clean it. Find the spot right behind where it was stuck. Drop within one club-length of that spot, not closer to the hole, in the general area. On the green, you can lift, clean and fix the mark. Lots of golfers play plugged balls when they don't need to.
Step by step
- Check it plugged on landing, in the general area.
- Mark and lift; you can clean it.
- Find the spot right behind it.
- Drop within one club-length.
- Play it from the general area.
Why it works
A ball that plugs sits partly or fully below the ground surface, so the club cannot make normal contact. The rule gives free relief because the lie is the result of the ball's own landing, not your shot choice. Marking the spot first and measuring from the point right behind the ball keeps the relief area fair and inside the general area.
Common mistakes
- Taking relief when the ball only sits down in thick grass and is not embedded in its own pitch mark.Check that the ball is below the ground surface in its own pitch mark, and that it got there on the landing, before you lift it.
- Lifting the ball without marking it first.Place a marker or tee right behind the ball, then lift, so you can find the exact reference spot.
- Measuring the club-length from the ball's old position, or dropping closer to the hole.Use the spot right behind where the ball was, measure one club-length from there, and make sure the ball comes to rest no nearer the hole.
How you'll know it's working
- The ball is clearly below the ground surface in the hole it made, and you can point to the pitch mark.
- Your dropped ball comes to rest within one club-length of the reference spot, no nearer the hole, in the general area.
- You make clean contact from the new lie, with no turf wrapped around the ball.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: Practise on soft ground after rain, where plugged balls are easy to see, and use a tee to mark the reference spot and a club to measure.
Harder: Run through the full sequence of check, mark, lift, find the spot, measure and drop with a playing partner watching, and without stopping to look up the rule.
Common questions
Do you get free relief for a plugged ball in a bunker?
No. Free relief for a plugged ball under this rule applies in the general area, which is the fairway and rough, not in bunkers or penalty areas.
Can you clean a ball that is plugged in the ground?
Yes. When you take relief for a plugged ball, you can mark the spot, lift the ball and clean it before you drop it.
