Drop Procedure
The modern drop releases the ball from knee height, straight down, into the relief area. It is simpler than the old shoulder-height drop but often done wrong.
The drop procedure under the current Rules of Golf requires a golfer to hold the ball and let it fall from knee height. It must be released so it drops straight down, without being thrown, spun, or rolled into place. This is a meaningfully simpler standard than the older shoulder-height, over-the-shoulder drop many longtime golfers still remember. It is meant to make legal drops easier to execute reliably.
A legal drop must land and stay within the defined relief area for whatever relief the golfer is taking. That area is a specific distance, such as one or two club-lengths from a reference point, depending on the situation. The ball must come to rest within that relief area for the drop to be complete. If the dropped ball rolls out of the relief area, the golfer re-drops. For instance, it might roll down a slope back toward a hazard, or closer to the hole than allowed. If a second drop also rolls out of the area, the rules allow placing the ball by hand. The golfer places it at the exact spot where the second drop first touched the ground.
A common mistake is not correctly establishing the relief area's reference point and boundary before dropping. An improperly measured relief area technically results in playing from a wrong place. That holds even if the physical drop motion itself was performed correctly. Typical errors are measuring from the wrong spot or getting the club-length count wrong. The full procedure is to establish the reference point and relief area carefully, then make a simple knee-height release. Nothing about the drop needs to be complicated once those two pieces are right.
Example
A player taking relief from a cart path measures one club-length from the nearest point of relief, then releases the ball from knee height so it falls straight down and comes to rest within that measured area.
Why it matters
Correctly establishing the relief area and making a knee-height drop keeps a golfer's relief legal. It avoids the more serious penalty of playing from a wrong place, which an improper drop can create.
Common mistakes
- Dropping from the wrong height — the current rule requires knee height, not the older shoulder-height standard some golfers still default to out of habit.
- Measuring the relief area from the wrong reference point, which can make an otherwise correctly executed drop invalid.
- Not re-dropping when the ball rolls out of the defined relief area, and instead playing it from wherever it happened to stop.
Frequently asked questions
What height do I drop the ball from?
Knee height, releasing the ball so it falls straight down without being thrown, spun, or rolled into place — this replaced the older shoulder-height drop standard.
What happens if my dropped ball rolls out of the relief area?
You re-drop it. If the second drop also rolls out of the relief area, you may then place the ball by hand at the exact spot where that second drop first touched the ground.
Related terms
- Free ReliefFree relief is moving the ball to a better spot without a penalty. It covers cases like an immovable obstruction, ground under repair, or an embedded ball.
- Unplayable LieA golfer may declare their ball unplayable anywhere except a penalty area and take relief for one penalty stroke. Only the golfer makes that call.
- Penalty Area (Water Hazard)A penalty area, often a pond or stream, is marked by yellow or red stakes or lines. Relief costs one penalty stroke and is more forgiving than out of bounds.
- Local RuleA local rule is a course- or competition-specific change adopted by the committee running play. It commonly covers embedded balls, temporary conditions like winter rules, or unique course features the standard Rules of Golf do not address.
Related guides & benchmarks
Put this into your swing
SwingVantage can spot this in your own swing — free to start.
See a sample Golf report first