Golf rule: Ball lands on a branch of a tree outside OB, can it be declared unplayable?
Situation: A golfer's ball is stuck on a tree branch. The branch is located out-of-bounds. However, due to the wind, the ball's position sometimes returns within the boundary of OB. In this case, can the golfer declare the ball unplayable and take a one-stroke penalty to drop the ball below?
Answer: Once a ball is out-of-bounds, it doesn't change (even if it's stuck on a tree branch), even if it later returns within the boundary of OB, the player is required to return to the previous position to hit the ball and is penalized a stroke.
The only way for you to declare the ball unplayable and take relief is if the ball was not OB before hitting the tree branch and was blown out. In this case, you will have 3 options to drop the ball and continue play with a one-stroke penalty:
- Re-hit from the previous position.
- From the point where the ball is on the tree branch, drop the ball within two club-lengths, nearer to the hole.
- Drop at any point on a line drawn from the hole to a point directly under the ball on the tree, but no nearer the hole, within one club-length of that line.