Can you declare a ball unplayable in a bunker

From there it was a disaster — swing after swing kicked up sand…but my ball never escaped. Removing my ball from the sand and back onto the fairway would have left me about 90 yards to the green. Hitting on and two-putting would have allowed me to escape with a double bogey. By Josh Berhow. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Brent Kelley. Brent Kelley is an award-winning sports journalist and golf expert with over 30 years in print and online journalism.

Updated December 06, Featured Video. Common Penalties Under the Rules of Golf. And Aren't. Your Privacy Rights. An unplayable lie can be declared anywhere on the golf course at any time, except in a water hazard.

An unplayable lie can even be declared in a bunker, allowing a player to take a drop inside the bunker for a one-stroke penalty or take the ball out of the bunker for a two-stroke penalty. So, once a golfer declares their ball or lie unplayable, they agree to take a one-stroke penalty in exchange for being able to improve their lie in one of three ways:. Once a player decides how they want to get relief from an unplayable lie, they identify their point of relief and drop the ball in play.

There could be other subsequent rulings that could come into play, particularly if a player chooses the third option of going as far back as they would like. You could, if you wanted, declare your ball unplayable from the middle of the fairway, but obviously you would rarely, if ever, want to do that. If you declare your ball unplayable, you then have three options. First, you can go back to where you last played from under penalty of stroke and distance. The second option is to drop within two club lengths of where your ball is lying but no nearer the hole, again under penalty of one stroke.

Your third option is to drop back as far as you like on a line keeping the point where your ball is currently lying between you and the flagstick, again under penalty of one stroke.

The idea of the provisional balls is that if you hit your ball somewhere you may not find it, as long as it's not in a penalty area, you can then hit a provisional to potentially save you a long walk back. You HAVE to make it clear that you are playing a provisional ball before you hit - you can say, "I'm going to hit another just in case," but our advice would be that it's probably best to use the words 'provisional ball' to avoid the potential for confusion.

If you find your original ball, your provisional ball is then immediately out of play. You cannot play your provisional ball, even if you find your original ball in an undesirable spot.

The point of the provisional ball is to save time. If you're in any doubt as to whether or not you'll find your original ball, hit a provisional and remember to declare it first. The nearest point of complete relief doesn't mean 'nicest' point of relief. Sometimes the nearest point of relief may be in a bush so it could sometimes be better to play from where it is lying, even if it's on a cart path.