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Animal hole or ground under repair or temporary water - When free relief is allowed
You are allowed free relief from an abnormal course condition when you have interference from such a condition anywhere on the course, except when the ball is in a penalty area or when the abnormal course condition is out of bounds.
Interference exists when any one of these is true:
- Your ball touches or is in or on an abnormal course condition,
- An abnormal course condition physically interferes with your area of intended stance or area of intended swing, or
- Only when your ball is on the putting green, an abnormal course condition on or off the putting green intervenes on your line of play.
- When playing your ball as it lies would be clearly unreasonable because of something from which you are not allowed to take free relief (such as when you are unable to make a stroke because of where your ball lies in a bush), or
- When interference exists only because you choose a club, type of stance or swing or direction of play that is clearly unreasonable under the circumstances.
DIAGRAM 16.1a: WHEN RELIEF IS ALLOWED FOR ABNORMAL COURSE CONDITION
- The diagram assumes the player is right-handed.
- Free relief is allowed for interference by an abnormal course condition (ACC), including an immovable obstruction, when the ball touches or lies in or on the condition (B1), or the condition interferes with the area of intended stance (B2) or swing.
- The nearest point of complete relief for B1 is P1, and is very close to the condition.
- For B2, the nearest point of complete relief is P2, and is farther from the condition as the stance has to be clear of the ACC.