GUIDES · BETSLIP DOCTOR
Can you take embedded-ball relief from another player’s pitch mark?
Usually, no. Rule 16.3 normally allows free relief when part of your ball is below ground in its own pitch mark from your previous stroke and the ball lies in the general area. A 2026 option, Model Local Rule F-2.3, can extend relief to certain unrepaired pitch marks made by any player's stroke, but only when the committee adopts it and a referee makes the required determination in a live-televised competition. Do not assume that exception applies at a regular round or event.
For Golfers checking whether a ball below the surface qualifies for free embedded-ball relief. · Updated
The default rule is about your ball's own pitch mark
Under Rule 16.3a, the ball must be embedded in the general area. Part of it must be below the level of the ground, in its own pitch mark made by the player's previous stroke. A ball merely resting in a depression, or embedded in another player's pitch mark, does not meet this default test.
There is no relief under Rule 16.3 for a ball embedded in sand in a part of the general area that is not cut to fairway height or less. Where relief is allowed, the player drops in the general area within one club-length of a point behind the ball, no nearer the hole.
F-2.3 is a limited competition option
A committee may adopt Model Local Rule F-2.3 for a live-televised competition where referees are present to make the ruling. It can allow relief when a referee determines that it is known or virtually certain that part of the ball is below ground in an unrepaired pitch mark in the general area cut to fairway height or less. The mark must have been made by a player's stroke, which can include another player's ball.
The committee must adopt the option, and F-2.3 does not extend beyond areas cut to fairway height or less. A mark is treated as repaired even if someone pressed it down or maintenance work passed over it. A visible indentation alone does not prove the Local Rule applies.
- Check whether F-2.3 appears in the event's adopted Local Rules.
- The live-television setting and referee determination are part of this option, not optional details.
Three fictional lies
A golfer's ball is below ground in its own fairway pitch mark in the general area: the default Rule 16.3 test may allow free relief. A second ball is below ground in another player's unrepaired mark in a fairway-height area: there is no relief under the default rule, but an adopted F-2.3 could apply if the event is live-televised and a referee makes the required determination. A third ball is embedded in sand outside an area cut to fairway height or less: the default embedded-ball rule does not allow relief there. These examples do not assume any committee adopted F-2.3.
Related questions
Does F-2.3 cover every visible pitch mark?
No. The ball must be below ground in an unrepaired mark in the specified closely mown part of the general area, and a referee must determine that the condition is known or virtually certain. The committee must also have adopted the Local Rule for an eligible live-televised competition.
Can a ball embedded in sand qualify?
Not under the default rule when the sand is outside an area cut to fairway height or less. F-2.3 also does not extend its permission beyond the specified fairway-height-or-less area.