Your ball is embedded in the face of a bunker do you get free relief?
Answer – Yes if it is embedded in the face but not if it is embedded in the sand
By definition “A lip, wall or face at the edge of a prepared area and consisting of soil, grass, stacked turf, or artificial materials” is NOT part of a bunker therefore the ball is in the general area and you can take embedded ball relief under Rule 16.3b.
There is a caveat. It is not uncommon for clubs to refuse free relief for a ball embedded in the stacked turf face or soil above a bunker. The R&A do this at their championships, including The Open, and so do England Golf.
What if it embeds in the wall or face right above a bunker, and there is nothing below it but sand? Clarification to Rule 16.3b deals with this problem.
You are required to find the nearest spot in the general area that “is not nearer the hole to the spot immediately behind where the ball embedded, and this spot becomes the reference point for establishing a relief area” .This will be very close to the spot behind where the ball embedded. But it also allows for the possibility that it could be “some distance away”
