Drop Procedure
The modern drop procedure requires releasing the ball from knee height, straight down, within the defined relief area — a simpler process than the older shoulder-height drop, but one still commonly done incorrectly.
The drop procedure under the current Rules of Golf requires a golfer to hold the ball and let it fall from knee height, 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, and one intended to make legal drops easier to execute consistently.
A legal drop must land and stay within the defined relief area for whatever relief the golfer is taking (a specific distance, such as one or two club-lengths from a reference point, depending on the situation), and 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 — for instance, down a slope back toward a hazard, or closer to the hole than allowed — the golfer re-drops; if a second drop also rolls out of the area, the rules allow placing the ball by hand 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, since an improperly measured relief area (measuring from the wrong spot, or getting the club-length count wrong) technically results in playing from a wrong place even if the physical drop motion itself was performed correctly. Establishing the reference point and relief area carefully, then executing a simple knee-height release, is the full procedure — 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 executing a knee-height drop keeps a golfer's relief legal, avoiding the more serious penalty of playing from a wrong place that 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 means moving the ball to a better spot with no penalty stroke added — available for situations like an immovable obstruction, ground under repair, or an embedded ball, distinguishing it from penalty relief options like unplayable lie or a penalty area.
- Unplayable LieA golfer can declare their own ball unplayable anywhere on the course except a penalty area, then choose from several relief options for one penalty stroke — the golfer, not the rules, gets to decide whether a lie is unplayable.
- Penalty Area (Water Hazard)A penalty area — commonly a pond, stream, or marked rough — is defined by yellow or red stakes/lines and offers relief options (one penalty stroke) that are meaningfully more forgiving than out of bounds, since the ball never technically left the course.
- Local RuleA local rule is a course- or competition-specific modification adopted by the committee running play — commonly covering embedded balls, temporary conditions like winter rules, or unique course features not addressed by the standard Rules of Golf.
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