Here is Ricky Fowler last week just about to make us all feel better by shanking it out of bounds.
Understandably he was a bit hot under the collar after such a shot, and without stopping to think he immediately dropped from shoulder height and as close to the place from which he had just played as possible (but not nearer the hole).
Of course, this was last year’s rule and is no longer correct.
If he had paused for thought, he would have remembered that his relief area is now within one club length and not nearer the hole (purple area), of the place he last played (yellow spot). So, he could have legitimately dropped on to the fairway and into a better lie – and of course should have done so from knee height.
At this stage he could have corrected his mistake, but as soon as he played it he incurred a 1 Stroke Penalty under Rule 14 for playing a ball dropped in the wrong way from inside the relief area (it would have been 2 strokes if he had played from outside the relief area).
In the last photo you can see his caddy standing by as he played the ball. Another player and caddy must also have been close by (ball just to his left). It is a shame that none of these were able to intervene and prevent the penalty.
A video of the episode is here: Ricky Fowlers Bad Drop
Golf Rules Guru 