Dear Golf Nut, which golf club can you use for a free or penalty drop? My playing partner and I were having a disagreement about this rule. Can you help?

Well it’s an interesting question. I have seen it argued on the golf course a number of times. Most golfers don’t know the answer because it is really two questions. One has to do with determining the nearest point of relief and the other has to do with which golf club can be used for a drop.

Determining the nearest point of relief: Say for example you have a free drop because your golf swing is impeded by an immoveable obstruction. First you must determine if you are actually entitled to relief. To do this you take the golf club that you would have hit for your next shot if the obstruction was not there. If the obstruction interferes with your swing with that club, you are entitled to relieve.

Then to determine the nearest point of relief you must use that same club according to the rules of golf: “In order to determine the nearest point of relief accurately, the player should use the club with which he would have made his next stroke if the condition were not there to simulate the address position, direction of play and swing for such a stroke.”

So you determine the nearest point, no closer to the hole, that the obstruction doesn’t interfere with your swing, using that same club, and you are entitled to a free drop within one club-length of that spot, again no nearer to the hole.

Now the second part comes into play, which golf club can you use to measure “one club length”. The answer is any legal club in your bag, so most golfers use the driver, but you don’t have to.

I hope that this helps settle the argument and thanks for this interesting question on the rules of golf. Most golfers probably not get this exactly right if asked this question on the golf course.

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