The drop — get it right — knee height, straight down
The correct drop is from knee height, straight down, without touching you or your equipment, landing in the relief area. Know when to re-drop and when to place.
What is the correct way to drop a golf ball?
Drop from knee height, straight down, without the ball touching you or your equipment, and let it come to rest inside the relief area (Rule 14.3).
Since the 2019 rules change, the drop is simple: knee height, straight down. No shoulder-height drops, no tossing with spin. If you get it wrong, the drop doesn't count and you must drop again correctly.
The step-by-step procedure
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1. Position | Stand in or near the relief area. You can stand outside the area to drop, as long as the ball lands in the area. |
| 2. Drop | Hold the ball at knee height and release it straight down. It must not touch you or your equipment before hitting the ground. |
| 3. Rest | The ball must come to rest in the relief area. If it rolls out, re-drop once. If it rolls out again, place it where it first touched the ground on the re-drop. |
When do you re-drop?
Re-drop if the ball:
- Rolls more than two club-lengths from where it hit the ground
- Comes to rest outside the relief area
- Rolls nearer the hole
- Rolls back into the same condition you took relief from (e.g., the cart path)
If the re-dropped ball does it again, place it where it first touched the ground on the second drop.
Drop vs place: know the difference
Most relief is by drop. You place the ball when: replacing a moved ball, playing from a wrong green, or after a second bad re-drop. Placing means setting it down and letting go so it stays where you put it.
Related relief rules
The drop procedure applies to cart path relief, unplayable lies, and penalty areas. Keep the whole system on one card with the free cheat sheet or Save Strokes.
Get Save Strokes → Free cheat sheet