How to take a drop in golf, step by step: knee height, relief area and errors

The correct procedure since 2019, how to measure your relief area, what to do if the ball rolls out, and the five errors that add an extra penalty without anyone telling you.

Teeup Golf Team

May 12, 2026 / 6 min read

How to take a drop in golf, step by step

The drop is the procedure you will perform more often than anything except the swing and the putt. It is also the one most people get wrong, almost always for two reasons: not knowing the rules changed in 2019, and not measuring the area properly.

Getting it wrong has real consequences: an uncorrected incorrect drop adds an extra penalty. Here is the full procedure.

The procedure, in four steps

(01) Establish your reference point.

It changes by situation:

Situation	Reference point
Free relief (path, sprinkler, temporary water)	The nearest point of complete relief
Red penalty area, lateral relief	Where the ball last crossed the margin
Unplayable ball, lateral relief	Where the ball lies
Embedded ball	Just behind the spot where it embedded

(02) Measure your relief area.

One or two club-lengths from that point, depending on the rule you are using:

Rule	Club-lengths
Free relief	1
Red penalty area, lateral	2
Unplayable ball, lateral	2

You may use the longest club in your bag except the putter, so use the driver: it gives you the largest possible area. And the area can never be nearer the hole than the reference point.

(03) Drop the ball from knee height.

Since 2019 the drop is taken from knee height while standing, not from shoulder height. It is the most visible error you will see on any Spanish course on any Sunday.

The ball is released, not thrown, not spun and not guided. You simply let it fall.

(04) Check it stays inside.

The ball must land inside the area and come to rest inside the area.

If it rolls out: re-drop.
If it rolls out again: place the ball by hand on the exact spot where it first touched the ground on the second drop.

There is no third drop. Second attempt, then you place.

The mental rule that settles 90 % of doubts

Never nearer the hole.

If the position you are considering is closer to the hole than your reference point, it is wrong. However sensible it looks.

How to measure club-lengths properly

A detail that costs shots: the area is a semicircle, not a straight line backwards. You may measure in any direction from the reference point, as long as you do not get nearer the hole.

That means there is nearly always a better position than the first one you think of. Before dropping, look at the whole arc: sometimes two club-lengths sideways give you a clean lie and a line to the green that the obvious spot does not.

Mark the limit. Leave a tee at the reference point and another at the edge of the area. It takes five seconds and prevents arguments.

"Nearest point of complete relief": what almost nobody understands

It is the concept that causes most trouble in free relief.

It is not "wherever suits me". It is the point closest to where the ball lies at which all interference disappears: the ball, your stance and the area of your intended swing.

The uncomfortable consequence: it may fall on the wrong side of the path. If the nearest point is across the buggy path, that is where you drop, even if it leaves you worse off. The rule does not let you pick the side you prefer.

How to determine it properly:

Identify the club you would use for the shot.
Simulate the stance on both sides of the interference.
Choose the point closest to the original ball, not the most comfortable one.
From there, one club-length, no nearer the hole.

The five most common errors

(01) Dropping from shoulder height. It changed in 2019. Correct it before you play and there is no penalty. Play the ball from there and there is.

(02) Dropping in the wrong place. Playing from a wrong place is a two-stroke penalty in stroke play.

(03) Measuring with a short iron. It gives you a small area for no reason. Use the driver.

(04) Not checking the stake colour. Red and yellow give different options. Covered in the golf rules you actually use.

(05) Dropping when you should place. In some cases — a ball you moved, relief on the green — the rule says place, not drop. On the putting green you never drop: you place.

Situations you will actually meet

This happened	What you do
Your ball is on a buggy path	Free relief. Nearest point of complete relief + 1 club-length
There is a puddle where your ball lies	Free relief. Same as the path
The ball is in a bunker with water in it	Free relief inside the bunker. Outside costs 1 stroke
The ball is embedded in the fairway	Free relief, 1 club-length from behind the spot
The ball crossed red stakes	2 club-lengths from where it crossed, +1 stroke
The ball is behind a tree	Unplayable, +1 stroke, three options to choose from
The ball is on a wrong green	Relief is compulsory and free. You must move off

Frequently asked questions

From what height do you drop a golf ball? From knee height while standing. It changed in 2019; before that it was shoulder height.

How many club-lengths do I get? One for free relief, two for lateral relief in a red penalty area and for an unplayable ball.

Which club can I measure with? The longest in your bag except the putter. Usually the driver.

What if the ball rolls out of the area? Re-drop. If it rolls out again, place the ball where it first touched the ground on the second drop.

Can I choose which side of the path to drop on? No. It must be the nearest point of complete relief, even if it leaves you worse off.

Do you drop on the green? No. On the putting green the ball is placed.

What is the penalty for dropping incorrectly? None if you correct it before playing. Two strokes in stroke play if you play from a wrong place.

Taking a drop properly is not a technicality: it is the difference between escaping trouble for one penalty stroke and escaping it for three.

Teeup has a rules chatbot inside the app to settle these questions out on the course.

Download the Teeup app and book your next round.