I thought my second shot on #16 was going to go right into oblivion, but when I got there, a bush had saved me. My ball wasn't playable, but it wasn't lost. Unplayable is only a one stoke penalty. A lost ball is stroke and distance (and time). The bush was right next to the cart path, but two club lengths would get me into the grass (but not into the fairway). I pondered the term "complete relief" for about ten seconds before just dropping my ball, and whacking it towards the green. I pondered dropping the ball on the cart path, and then taking free relief from that to get into the fairway.
So what does "complete relief" mean? Click on the link to find out, but the key in this scenario is that it only applies to free relief under Rules #13, #16, and #17 (Unplayable is Rule #19).
So if I am taking the penalty stroke for unplayable, I'm pretty sure that I could drop on the cart path, and then take free relief to get to the fairway. Pro golfers use the rules to their advantage all of the time. They even have rules officials right there to explain it to them. So why shouldn't you?
Related - Note that if you are right-handed, and your ball stops in the middle of the cart path, then your nearest point of complete relief is always going to be to the left of the cart path. You don't get to pick which side. Even if your ball is one foot right-of-center of the cart path, your nearest point of relief is still going to be on the left side of the cart path (because your stance takes up more than a foot).
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