Penalty areas
The R&A / USGA · 2023Yellow and red areas offer different relief options.
Play it or take penalty relief
You may normally play a ball in a penalty area as it lies without penalty, including grounding the club, unless a no-play zone intervenes. If the ball is not found, penalty-area relief requires knowledge or virtual certainty that it is there. Both yellow and red areas allow stroke-and-distance or back-on-the-line relief for 1 penalty stroke. Keep the last crossing point between hole and drop location; drop on the line outside the area.
Red areas and limits
Red areas additionally permit lateral relief within 2 club-lengths of the last crossing point, not nearer the hole and outside that penalty area. Back-on-the-line relief creates an area within 1 club-length of the first ground-contact point, with the specified course-area limits. A ball in a penalty area has no abnormal-condition, embedded-ball or unplayable-ball relief. Dangerous animals have a separate exception. Further relief after playing from the area can involve additional penalties; do not assume every exit costs the same.
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