Welcome to Rules 101! This page will give you a chance to test your Rules knowledge and bone up on the need-to-know Rules of Golf. E-mail AJGA Director of Education Andrew Greenfield with any questions.

Rule 28: Ball Unplayable

While playing in a high school golf event last week my ball came to rest in a thorn bush and while I could identify the ball as mine, I could not play it. My fellow-competitors suggested that I take an unplayable, but they did not know all of the options. We all knew that you could drop a ball within two club lengths from the spot where the ball lay, but not nearer the hole. I did this and finished the hole. Can you please explain the other options under the unplayable ball rule and what would have happened if I dropped the ball under the two club-length option and the ball rolled back to the unplayable position in the thorn bush?