Get clear, simple answers to the most common Rules questions golfers had last year ― from relief and penalty areas to accidental deflections.
The United States Golf Association (USGA) fields nearly 20,000 rules questions each year through its 24/7 hotline, email, and the USGA Rules of Golf mobile app.
For 2025, the most frequently asked questions touched on topics from relief options to accidental ball movement. Here’s a breakdown of the most common — with plain-language answers provided by the USGA’s Todd Stice.
How do I take relief from a cart path?
A: You’re entitled to free relief when your ball is on a cart path, but you must follow a specific process:
- Identify the nearest point of complete relief (NPCR), where there’s no interference from the cart path to your lie, stance, or swing.
- This spot must be in bounds and not located in a penalty area, bunker, or on the putting green.
- From that point, drop a ball within one club-length, no closer to the hole.
Q: What are my options when taking relief from a red or yellow penalty area?
A: For a yellow penalty area:
- Stroke and distance: Play again from the previous spot. If it was a tee shot, you may tee up again.
- Back-on-the-line relief: Drop on a line behind the penalty area, keeping the point where the ball last crossed the edge between you and the hole. There’s no limit to how far back you can go.
For a red penalty area, you have the two yellow area options plus:
- Lateral relief: Drop within two club-lengths of where the ball last crossed the edge of the red penalty area, no closer to the hole.
Each option includes a one-stroke penalty.
Q: Do I get a penalty if my ball accidentally hits my cart, clubs, or myself after a stroke?
A: No. If your ball in motion accidentally strikes you, your cart, or any of your equipment, there is no penalty. You play the ball as it lies.
Q: If I make a practice swing and accidentally move my ball, is there a penalty?
A: It depends on where the ball was:
- On the teeing area or putting green: No penalty. Replace the ball and continue.
- Anywhere else (fairway, rough, bunker, or penalty area): One-stroke penalty. Replace the ball on its original spot.
If the ball was on the teeing area, you may re-tee it after replacing it.
Q: Can I press down a divot, move sand, rake a bunker, or break a branch near my ball?
A: Generally, no — if it would improve your play. The Rules prioritize “playing the ball as it lies” and “playing the course as you find it.”
- Divots/grass: You may not press them down to improve lie, stance, or swing.
- Sand: Can only be removed if your ball is on the putting green or teeing area — not elsewhere if it improves conditions.
- Bunker footprints: You can rake them only if doing so doesn’t improve your lie, stance, swing, or line of play.
- Branches: You may not break a branch to improve your backswing. If a branch breaks during your stroke, there’s no penalty.
Information courtesy of the United States Golf Association (USGA).
