Golf Rules: The Embedded Ball Issue By Mitch Moon, LPGA Rules Official A common theme in this year’s first two men’s major championships, the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open, has been the controversial relief procedure for an embedded golf ball. First and foremost, the golf ball must be embedded in the general area to get relief under this rule. The general area is the entire golf course except for all penalty areas, bunkers, putting greens and the teeing area. The ball must be embedded in its own pitch mark from the player’s previous stroke. It is not embedded if someone steps on it, the ball is dropped after taking relief, or the ball goes straight into the ground, without becoming airborne. When it is determined that relief has been granted for an embedded ball, the reference point is the area directly behind where the ball is embedded. The player then has one Michigan Golf Journal
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