It has come to the match committee’s attention that some members don’t know the correct procedures for taking relief from a red or yellow marked penalty area.
The procedure in question is the “back-on-the-line” relief.
The member seemed to think that the line of the ball entering the penalty area was the line that you went back along for the relief. This is incorrect and unfair to members applying the correct procedure.
The angle that the ball entered the hazard has nothing to do with the relief taken, this is not the “line“.
The point at which the ball crossed into the penalty area is the reference point that is used to go straight back away from the hole being played – as far as you like for a 1 clublength radius drop and a 1 shot penalty.
The following is a link to the R & A ruling:
https://www.randa.org/rog/players-edition/rule-17#17_1d
Match Committee