Obstruction
An obstruction is an artificial object on the course for which, depending on its type, you get relief without penalty.
The rules divide obstructions into two groups. Movable obstructions such as bunker rakes, drinks cans or tee markers you may simply remove, no matter where they lie. Immovable obstructions are permanently installed: paths, sprinkler heads, control boxes, supports of ball-catching nets or bridges. If they interfere with your stance, swing or the position of the ball, you get relief without penalty. You look for the nearest point where the interference is gone and drop within one club length. Boundary stakes and wall remnants that mark out of bounds, by contrast, are not obstructions in the sense of the rules — there is no relief there.
On the course it goes like this: your ball lies on the gravel path, ten meters right of the fairway. You mark the spot, look for the nearest point where neither stance nor swing touches the path, and drop. That costs no stroke. The word "nearest" is what matters: you may not wander to the nicer side of the path — you take the first point that removes the interference.
A typical mistake is confusing it with loose natural objects or dropping at the spot you would prefer. Anyone who plays from a wrong place risks penalty strokes. Each facility additionally regulates the details through its local rules, for example for protected flower beds or young trees with supports. Read the notice in the clubhouse — it states what counts as an obstruction and what does not.
FAQ
When do you get relief without penalty from an obstruction?
When an immovable obstruction such as a path, a sprinkler head or a control box interferes with your stance, swing or the position of the ball. You look for the nearest point where the interference is gone and drop within one club length, without it costing you a stroke. You simply remove movable obstructions such as bunker rakes or drinks cans.
Are you allowed to pick the nicest spot when dropping?
No, that is a typical mistake. You take the nearest point that removes the interference, not the most comfortable one on the other side of the path. Anyone who plays from a wrong place risks penalty strokes; the details of the procedure are covered under the free drop.
Why is there no relief at the out-of-bounds stakes?
Because boundary stakes and walls that mark out of bounds are not obstructions in the sense of the rules. You may neither remove them nor take a drop from them, even if they interfere with your swing. What else counts as an obstruction on your facility, such as protected flower beds or young trees with supports, is stated in the notice in the clubhouse.