Stroke-and-distance relief is the one option that you are always allowed to use, no matter what the situation is. But it is also the required procedure if your ball is either lost or out of bounds.

The term stroke and distance means that you take one penalty stroke for using the option – stroke – and go back to the spot where your last stroke was made – distance. How you put a ball into play under this procedure varies depending on where you played your last stroke.

If your last stroke was made from:

The Teeing Area – All you need to do is play a ball from anywhere within the teeing area. You can even tee it up, even if you didn’t do so the first time.

The General Area – You have to drop a ball in a one club-length relief area based on the spot where your previous stroke was made, no nearer the hole. The relief area must also still be in the general area.

A Penalty Area – You use the same dropping procedure as you would for a ball in the general area, but the relief area must be in the penalty area.

A Bunker – You use the same dropping procedure as you would for a ball in the general area, but this time the relief area must be in the bunker.

The Putting Green – If your previous spot was on the putting green, in this case you must place a ball on the previous spot.

One very important note about stroke and distance is that once you put a ball into play to proceed this way, the original ball becomes a wrong ball and must no longer be played – even if you later find it within the three-minute search time.