Can You Play Out of Red Stakes?

You’ve tracked your shot and found it, but your heart sinks a little - it’s sitting just inside those pesky red stakes. The first question that pops into your head is a simple one: Am I even allowed to hit it from here? This guide will anwer that question and walk you through everything you need to know about navigating red penalty areas, from assessing your lie to understanding all your relief options so you can make the smartest decision for your game.

What Do Red Stakes Actually Mean?

Before we can decide on a course of action, it's good to understand what you're up against. Those red stakes define the boundary of a red penalty area. You might remember the old term, "lateral water hazard," but the Rules of Golf simplified this in 2019 to just "penalty area." While these often contain water like ponds or streams, they can also be areas of dense woods, thick brush, desert scrub, ravines, or any other part of the course the committee wants you to avoid.

The key here is that the stakes (or a painted red line) mark the edge of the penalty area. If any part of your golf ball touches that line or is inside of it, your ball is officially in the penalty area. Now, for the real question…

So, Can You Play Your Ball from a Red Penalty Area?

Let's get straight to it: Yes, you can absolutely play your ball from within a red penalty area. The Rules of Golf give you the choice to play the ball as it lies without any penalty whatsoever. This is one of the most common misunderstandings in club golf. Many players mistakenly believe that just because their ball is inside the red stakes, they are forced to take a penalty drop. That is not the case.

The decision is entirely yours. Hitting your ball out of the penalty area and carrying on with the hole without adding a penalty stroke is a completely legal, and often heroic, play. But just because you can doesn't always mean you should. The strategic decision lies in weighing the risk of your shot against the certainty of taking a drop.

The “Should You Play It?” Checklist for Success

Deciding whether to take a swing from inside the red stakes is one of golf's classic risk-reward scenarios. Rushing into the shot without a proper assessment can turn a manageable situation into a very big number on your scorecard. To avoid this, run through this simple mental checklist every time.

1. How Well Can You See the Ball?

This is the first and most important factor. Take a good look at your ball. The A-B-C rule is a simple guide:

• A (Awesome): You can see the entire golf ball. It’s sitting up nicely on a patch of grass or pine straw. This is your green light to give it a go.
• B (Borderline): About half of the ball is visible, possibly nestled down in grass or mud. This is a judgment call. Your chance of a bad result (like a chili dip or a shank) increases significantly.
• C (Consider Dropping): You can barely see the top of the ball, or it’s completely submerged or buried. Stop right there. The odds of a remotely successful shot are slim to none. This is an almost automatic “take your medicine” situation.

2. Assess the Lie and the Ground Underneath

Even if you can see the ball, the surface it's on will dictate what kind of swing you can make. Is the ball sitting on firm turf or soft mud? Dry dirt or wet sand? If your ball is in water, is it just barely submerged where you can still splash it out, or is it deep enough that it will kill your clubhead speed? A good lie on grass gives you a fighting chance. Soft, muddy ground increases the chances of your club digging in and the ball going nowhere.

3. Can You Take a Stable Stance?

A good golf shot begins with a good foundation. Can you get both of your feet firmly planted on solid, relatively level ground? If one foot is on a steep slope, in the water, or sunk in mud while the other is on dry land, you're going to have an incredibly hard time staying balanced. A wobbly stance is an invitation for a mis-hit. Don't underestimate this. If you can’t get comfortable and stable over the ball, taking relief is often the smart move.

4. Is Your Swing Path Clear?

Before you commit, take a couple of slow practice swings - without touching the ground, just to be safe. Check your backswing and your follow-through. Are there any overhanging tree branches, thick bushes, or big rocks that will interfere? Catching your club on an unseen branch on the way down is a recipe for disaster. If you can't make a free and unimpeded motion, your shot is compromised before you even start.

5. What's the Realistic Outcome? (Be Honest)

Finally, ask yourself what the best-case scenario truly is if you attempt the shot. Can you reasonably advance the ball towards the green and put it in a better position? Or are you just hoping to punch it out 20 yards sideways back into the fairway? Compare this to your relief options. Sometimes, taking a one-stroke penalty and dropping in a perfect lie in the fairway is a far better outcome than hacking it out, leaving it in the rough, and still lying the same number of strokes.

Big Rule Changes You Need to Know

The game has become more friendly for players in this situation. The 2019 Rules update removed several old penalties associated with playing from a penalty area. This is great news for you.

Today, when your ball is in a red penalty area, you are now allowed to:

• Ground your club. You can rest your club on the ground behind the ball at address just like you would in the fairway.
• Take practice swings that touch the ground. You can brush the grass, mud, or leaves with your a practice swing.
• Remove loose impediments. This is a massive advantage. You can pick up leaves, twigs, stones, and other loose natural objects around your ball without penalty.

The only real restriction is that you cannot improve the conditions affecting your stroke. This means you can’t break a branch that’s in your swing path, press down the tall grass behind your ball to give yourself a cleaner lie, or alter the ground to improve your stance. Basically, play it as you find it, but feel free to clean up loose stuff around it.

Your Relief Options for One Penalty Stroke

If you run through the checklist and decide the risk is too high, it's time to choose one of your relief options. Taking this route will cost you one penalty stroke, but it often saves you many more in the long run. For a red penalty area, you have three choices.

Option 1: Stroke-and-Distance Relief

This is the most basic option and is available for any penalty shot. You can return to the spot where you hit your previous shot and play again from there. If you hit your tee shot into a penalty area, you would re-tee. While it's always an option, it is often the least appealing because you lose significant distance.

Option 2: Back-on-the-Line Relief

This option gives you a bit more flexibility. Find the point where your ball last crossed the edge of the red penalty area. Now, imagine a straight line going from the hole, through that point, and extending as far back as you'd like. You can drop a ball anywhere on that line. This is a good option if you want to give yourself a specific yardage for your next shot, but it might take you into rough or a poor angle.

Option 3: Lateral Relief (The Go-To Red Stake Option)

This is the special option that only applies to red penalty areas, not yellow ones. It's often the most advantageous and popular choice. First, identify the point where your ball last entered the penalty area. From there, you can measure two club-lengths (using the longest club in your bag that isn’t a putter) in any direction, as long as it isn't any nearer to the hole. You can drop your new ball within that two-club-length relief area.

This allows you to drop on a nice spot in the fairway or light rough, often very close to where your ball went in, making it a powerful tool for damage control.

Final Thoughts

You are an empowered golfer. You know now that you are fully permitted to play out of a red penalty area. Making the right decision, however, comes from careful, unemotional assessment of the situation in front of you. By walking through our shot checklist, you can confidently weigh the risks and rewards and choose the path that gives you the best chance to save your score.

Navigating these tricky moments on the course is where a good caddie–or a good a caddie app–makes all the difference. When you're standing over a tough lie in a penalty area, full of doubt about what to do next, this is where we can help. Instead of guessing, you can snap a photo of your ball's lie with your phone and get an instant, expert recommendation from Caddie AI. Our AI coach analyzes the shot and gives you a clear strategy, telling you whether to play hero golf or take the drop, so you can commit to your decision and avoid those blow up holes.