Relief in Penalty Area

[mikejohnchapman]

I was asked a question which I thought I knew the answer to but the more I thought about it I wasn't sure.

Scenario is that a ball is played over a lake and fails to clear the far side. Player goes forward to check in case it skipped out as it was very near the edge. Finds the ball in the penalty area right on the edge. The question was "can I take a penalty drop from the point where the ball lies, outside the penalty area, no nearer the hole?"

The point the ball crossed the penalty area margin was way back but due to the nature of the hole a 2 club length drop from the position of the ball (not the PA boundary), no nearer the hole was very possible.

My initilal reaction was you can take an unplayable within the PA but you have to drop in it. Otherwise the usual ABC rules apply.

Was this correct?

 

[RulesGuy]

You can deem a ball unplayable anywhere on the course except a penalty area

 

[doublebogey7]

No

Rule 19.1
Unplayable ball relieve is allowed anywhere on the course except, in a Penalty Area.

Sorry Rules Guy beat me to it

 

[Colin L]

Where the ball lies in the penalty area has no bearing on where you take relief. The reference point for back on the line relief (yellow and red PAs) and lateral relief (red PAs only) is the estimated point at which the ball last crossed the edge of the PA. The reference point for stroke and distance is where you last played the ball. See Rule 17.1d