Penalty area

[Putt for Doe]

A player hits his shot over a penalty area marked with yellow stakes just in front of the green on the hole he is playing. The ball clears the penalty area but spins back into it. What are his options?
Thanks.

 

[rulie]

A player hits his shot over a penalty area marked with yellow stakes just in front of the green on the hole he is playing. The ball clears the penalty area but spins back into it. What are his options?
Thanks.

Of course, he can play the ball from the penalty area.
Or, under penalty of one stroke:
- play again from the point of the last stroke
- drop a ball behind the penalty area on a straight line formed by the flagstick and the point where the ball last crossed the edge of the penalty area (this last crossed point would be the green side of the penalty area)

 

[rulefan]

The last option is often called "Back on a Line".
But note the description rulie gave. It is not necessarily the line the ball took to get there.

 

[Steven Rules]

Just a minor and pedantic point on terminology. The the term used in the Rules is back-on-the-line relief, not back-on-a-line relief.

 

[rulefan]

Just a minor and pedantic point on terminology. The the term used in the Rules is back-on-the-line relief, not back-on-a-line relief.

I agree but I prefer 'a' to 'the' as some think that 'the' means 'the original'.