Unplayable lie with no relief within 2 club lengths?

I played in a member guest this weekend and my partner hit into some tall green heather.  There was no where within 2 club lengths that would be relief.  Did he have the option of taking a stroke and going back to where he played the ball from originally?

The 12 he took on the hole took us out of contention.  The sad thing is the shot that got him there was no really that bad it just landed in a bad spot.

He could have taken option (b), not sure if that would have worked out or not.

Yes, he had the option of stroke and distance.  He could also have taken the 2 clublengths, dropped, then repeated it with one more penalty stroke.  Invoking Rule 28 twice and taking 2 penalty strokes might have gotten him out of trouble cheaper than stroke and distance.  It would probably have been better than a 12.

It's something to keep in mind.  I've done it a couple of times when in that type of situation.  There is never a guarantee that the next shot from the stroke and distance location won't end up the same.

Additionally, had he opted to drop and then deemed the ball unplayable from that lie, he could have still returned to the spot from which he hit his last shot.....at the cost of an additional penalty stroke.......for a total of 2 penalty strokes.  He only has that additional option until he plays a subsequent stroke, so it's important to consider stroke and distance before actually playing a stroke at the ball.

28/6.5

Player Deems Ball Unplayable a Second Time and Wishes to Proceed Under Stroke and Distance After Dropping a Ball Under Other Unplayable Option

Q.A player plays a stroke from Point A to Point B. The player deems his ball unplayable and proceeds under either Rule 28b or 28c . After dropping under penalty of one stroke, the ball comes to rest at Point C. The player deems his ball unplayable for a second time and wishes to proceed under Rule 28a , playing from Point A. Is this permissible?

A.Yes. The player may play from Point A because he did not make a stroke at the ball from either Point B or Point C. Point A was the spot from which the original ball was last played. The player would incur a total of two penalty strokes.

It's worth noting/remembering that while there are times (OB/lost ball) where it's mandated, you always have the option of stroke and distance any time you'd like to do so.

edited to add that @Fourputt types faster than I do.......

Well lesson learned, hard lesson learned.