Penalty
Penalty is the English word for a punishment — in golf usually the penalty stroke added to your score.
You encounter penalty on the course in two contexts. On the one hand as a penalty stroke, that is the stroke you additionally count for a rules case without having played a ball. On the other hand in the designation penalty area, the Water Hazard (Penalty Area), the umbrella term valid since the 2019 rule reform for red and yellow marked penalty zones. German players usually simply say Penalty Stroke for it; in international groups and on English scorecards, penalty is the usual expression. The rule numbers behind it are identical worldwide.
In practice, a penalty situation always unfolds the same way. An example: your drive lands in the red-marked stream to the side of the hole. You drop within two club lengths of the entry point, no nearer the hole, and add a penalty stroke. Your drive was stroke one, the penalty is two, your next stroke counts as three. Alternatively, you may go back as far as you want on a line behind the entry point. With yellow-marked zones, the lateral option is missing; there, only the line or the new stroke from the original spot remains.
A typical mistake is defining the entry point imprecisely. It counts where the ball last crossed the boundary of the penalty area, not where it lies in the water. Anyone who drops too generously plays from the wrong spot and risks further penalty strokes. Second misconception: a penalty area is not a lost ball. If your ball lies playable in the red zone, for example on dry bank ground, you may play it without penalty. Only when you take relief does the penalty apply. The penalty-free alternative for interference from the course is the free drop.
FAQ
How do I correctly count a penalty stroke on the scorecard?
The penalty stroke counts as a stroke even though you did not play a ball. Example: your drive lands in the water — that was stroke one. The penalty is stroke two, your next stroke after the drop counts as three. That is how you enter it on the scorecard too, without any tricks.
Do I have to drop my ball from the penalty area or may I play it?
You may play it if it lies playable. If your ball lies on dry bank ground in the red-marked zone, the stroke is allowed without penalty, and you may even ground the club. Only when you take relief and drop does the penalty stroke apply.
What is the difference between red and yellow penalty zones?
With yellow-marked zones you have two options: a new stroke from the original spot or a drop on the line behind the entry point. Red-marked zones give you the additional lateral option, that is the drop within two club lengths of the entry point. The details are described under water hazard (penalty area).