Rules on the course
Do You Get Relief from Tree Roots in Golf?
Exposed roots do not, by themselves, create a general free-relief entitlement. Check whether the Committee has adopted a root Local Rule and exactly which ground and interference it covers.
Competitive Play · Updated October 22, 2026
Follow the worked example
Example notice: fairway ground is the central lighter strip. The rough outside it is excluded. The same-looking root does not carry its own free-relief entitlement across that boundary.
A: ball on a root inside the notice
The ball/root interference is within the stated fairway scope. Rule 16.1b supplies the applicable complete-relief and dropping procedure.
- B
- Ball position for this case.
- X
- Exposed root. These entitlement diagrams do not designate a dropping reference point.
B: same interference outside the notice
This root is in rough outside the fictional notice. F-9 relief is unavailable under that notice; consider the applicable unplayable option instead.
- B
- Ball position for this case.
- X
- Exposed root. These entitlement diagrams do not designate a dropping reference point.
C: only the stance touches
Ball and swing are clear. The root under a foot is inside the fairway, but the notice expressly excludes stance-only interference.
- B
- Ball position for this case.
- X
- Exposed root. These entitlement diagrams do not designate a dropping reference point.
- Check location
- The Committee's specified ground is part of the rule. Do not invent a universal distance from every fairway.
- Check interference
- Ball, swing and stance are different facts; read any stance-only exclusion.
- Then choose a procedure
- If free relief is unavailable, a difficult root does not create a drop. Rule 19 and penalty-area procedures remain separate.
Fictional F-9 notice: exposed roots in the defined fairway area are treated as ground under repair; stance-only interference is excluded. The drawings compare entitlement, not measured dropping points. No course adoption is claimed.
The short version
- Model Local Rule F-9 is an optional treatment of specified exposed roots as ground under repair.
- Its geographical scope and any stance-only exclusion must be read together.
- A ball outside that scope does not receive free relief just because another root does.
Three roots, one fictional Local Rule
Our example event treats exposed roots in its specified fairway area as ground under repair and excludes stance-only interference. Case A places the ball on a covered root. Case B puts the same interference outside the defined area. Case C leaves ball and swing clear but a foot on the root.
The three panels are a reading exercise for that stated fictional rule. They do not claim a particular course has adopted it, or that a fixed number of club-lengths from every fairway is a universal boundary.
Read the blank spaces in the model
F-9 allows the Committee to specify where the treatment applies and whether to exclude interference only with the stance. Those details determine what the player can do. A sentence that simply says roots are free relief has removed the information needed for the decision.
Ask for the actual course or event document. A playing partner's recollection from a different venue is not a substitute.
When the root is outside the rule
Do not manufacture a free drop or force a stroke to demonstrate that the root is difficult. Consider the applicable unplayable-ball options under Rule 19 if you decide not to play it as it lies. Penalty-area cases use their own relief framework rather than the general-area unplayable options.
This page explains entitlement and choices, not a technique for striking across exposed roots. The ball's location and available legal options are enough to discuss with the referee.
A small record prevents a large disagreement
Before moving the ball, identify the root's location against the adopted scope, the interference and any stance restriction. Keep the reference point separate from the final lie if relief is available.
Use bunker relief to compare how location changes penalty options, or TIO relief for another Committee-defined condition.
Your next move
Check the governing rule
Confirm the actual condition, adopted Local Rule and procedure before moving the ball.
Check the governing rule(Official source), opens in a new tabKeep reading
Sources and review
- What it covers
- 2023 Rules of Golf and current published clarifications/Model Local Rules checked October22,2026 for this specific scenario.
- Checked
Primary sources
What this page cannot tell you
- Original fictional diagrams; no actual course adoption or measured relief location is claimed. No named rules-qualified reviewer has reviewed this page.