Rules on the course
Embedded Ball in a Bunker Lip: Sand, Grass and Relief
A ball plugged into a grass bunker lip is a different case from one embedded in bunker sand. Classify the spot first, then establish the correct reference point before dropping.
Competitive Play · Updated October 22, 2026
Follow the worked example
Sand and soil are different areas
The side view separates bunker sand from the soil face. It classifies the two balls; it is not the plan used to measure relief.
- A
- Ball in prepared bunker sand: Rule 16.3 general-area relief does not apply.
- B
- Ball embedded in its own pitch-mark in a soil face: check Rule 16.3a and the applicable Local Rule.
When directly behind is outside the general area
Plan inputs: B is on the narrow soil lip; S is immediately behind B in the bunker. The relevant general-area ground beyond the no-nearer boundary starts at the right-hand straight edge. The other lip ground is nearer the hole than S. Blue alone is the eligible one-club-length region from R.
- H
- Hole; the dashed direction runs from the embedded ball toward it.
- B
- Embedded ball in the narrow general-area lip.
- S
- Spot immediately behind B; it is outside the general area.
- R
- Nearest qualifying general-area spot to S, not nearer H than S. It becomes the Rule 16.3b reference point.
Find R from S, not from the bunker floor or a convenient flat lie. The relief region is in the general area and no nearer the hole than R. Drop in that region; a ball that will not stay follows Rule 14.3 rather than an invented fairway placement.
Original fictional cutaway and plan. One drawn club-length is 32 plan units. No drawing establishes a real course location; Rule 16.3 eligibility and a rules-qualified review remain necessary.
The short version
- Bunker sand and a soil or grass face are different course areas.
- The current clarification addresses a reference point immediately behind the ball that falls outside the general area.
- A steep face does not turn a dropping procedure into permission to place wherever you prefer.
First identify the ground under the ball
Imagine two balls beside the same bunker. Ava's is plugged into sand inside the bunker edge. Ben's is embedded in its own pitch-mark in the soil face above it. Their height above the bunker floor does not make them the same case.
A grass or soil lip is excluded from the bunker definition. For a ball that straddles an edge, apply the actual bunker definition rather than judging from the photograph's overall appearance. Embedded-ball relief also has conditions and exceptions; being below some grass is not sufficient by itself.
When directly behind the ball is not general area
The current16.3b/1 clarification supplies a procedure when relief is allowed but the spot immediately behind the embedded ball is outside the general area: find the nearest general-area spot that is not nearer the hole than that behind-ball spot. That becomes the reference point.
The original illustration isolates that classification problem. It does not promise a convenient flat patch above the bunker. The qualifying point may be to one side; the resulting relief area still has to satisfy Rule 16.3b.
A drop that will not stay is a separate question
Suppose Ben establishes an eligible relief area on a steep grass face. That does not authorize starting with placement on the fairway. Use the dropping and, if necessary, re-dropping/placing procedure in Rule 14.3. A ball that rolls out after a correct drop is different from a ball deliberately dropped outside the area.
Keep the reference point, relief-area boundary and first ground contact distinct when discussing the result with a referee. Those three observations resolve more than saying the ball rolled back into the bunker.
What to record before moving it
Note the original ball location, the material touching it, its own pitch-mark, the spot immediately behind it and the direction of the hole. Check any adopted embedded-ball Local Rule. For the sand case, use bunker relief options; for a dropping problem, use the published Rule 14 procedure.
This is the current clarification, not the older blanket conclusion that a ball in this grass-face situation can never obtain relief.
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.