How to Take Relief From An Immoveable Obstruction
By Gary Hill - RCGA Rules Official

Interference by an immovable obstruction (Rule 24-1) occurs when a ball lies in or on the obstruction, or so close to the obstruction that the obstruction interferes with the player's stance or the area of his intended swing. You get no free relief from a sprinkler control box 5 feet in front of you.

One of the stipulations of the procedure for taking free relief from an immovable obstruction is that you must, in fact, take complete relief. This means that if you take free relief off the cart path and, after dropping, your stance in still on the cart path, you must re-drop.

This stipulation applies to Rule 24-2 (immovable obstruction), Rule 25-1 (abnormal ground conditions), Rule 25-3 (wrong putting green) or a Local Rule (Rule 33-8a), or rolls back into the pitch-mark from which it was lifted under Rule 25-2 (embedded ball).

However, in taking relief from a water hazard no such stipulation exists. If relief is taken under Rule 26-1b or c, the ball must be dropped outside the water hazard. If the dropped ball rolls back into hazard, it must be re-dropped. However, no stipulation is made to re-drop if the players stance or area of swing is still in the water hazard. In our case situation, the player was perfectly within his rights to stand in the hazard to play the ball dropped outside the hazard.

The unplayable procedure (Rule 28) is the most severe. There is no requirement for even the ball to get relief from the situation. If you invoke Rule 28 and happen to drop back into the unplayable situation, you must take ANOTHER unplayable penalty to get out.

TIP: When faced with any situation where relief may be involved, make it a habit to examine and confirm the proper drop area BEFORE you lift your ball. That way, if you ultimately decide that your best option is to play the play as it lies, it won't cost you a stroke for lifting your ball.