Plugged Ball

A golf ball that has become embedded in the ground due to its own impact, typically occurring in soft conditions or wet turf where the ball creates its own depression upon landing. Plugged balls are often found in fairways after rain or in soft ground conditions around greens. Players may take free relief from plugged balls in the general area by lifting, cleaning, and dropping the ball within one club length of the spot directly behind where the ball was embedded. Understanding plugged ball rules and relief procedures helps optimize playing conditions and ensures proper rules compliance.