Rules Question - Confused

**Rounders** · April 21, 2010

Hello everyone, I have a rules question and I'm not sure it was handled correctly, can someone please explain the ruling on this one?

Player A hit's tee shot to left side of fairway (dogleg right). Player A (and the rest of the group) assumes it's a good tee shot and playable. Upon walking up to his ball, he notices that it's OB by a foot or so.

Does player A have to return to the tee box and hit another tee shot? Or does Player A get to drop a ball on the line in which the ball crossed OB?

Player A wound up heading back to the tee and hit another and took a 1 stroke penalty. Another player in the group thought that he could take a drop where the ball crossed the hazard and occur a 1 stroke penalty. Who is right?

I think that this falls under rule 27 stroke and distance, true?

**Mrd19abhs** · April 21, 2010

im not a rules guru but i believe that if it landed in bounds and rolled out he can take the drop with a one stroke pen.

**Par Fore** · April 21, 2010

OB - back to the tee, play your 3rd shot off the tee....

I have seen tournaments where they allow certain flights to play OB as a hazard and take a drop, but it is clearly outlined in their rules.....

In a casual round where the course is backed up, I got zero issues with a buddy taking a drop/penalty and playing....but, if you EVER think that a ball maybe even close to OB, you should always play a provisional....

**msd3075** · April 21, 2010

im not a rules guru but i believe that if it landed in bounds and rolled out he can take the drop with a one stroke pen.

Where the ball lands means absolutely nothing. The only thing that matters is where the ball comes to rest. Same goes for if your ball hits OB and then bounces back in bounds; you'd play it as being in bounds.

As for the OP's question, under the rules Player A would have to go back to the tee box (or where ever the previous shot was taken from) and hit another shot. The second tee shot would be their third stroke for the hole. Also, if you ever think there is even a remote chance your ball might be OB, it always pays to hit a provisional. If not for you, it helps out the pace of play for every group behind you.

**zeg** · April 21, 2010

Big Perm has it. OB is OB, doesn't matter how it got there. Stroke and distance.

The only exception would be if an outside agency (dog, spectator) picked it up and moved it after it had stopped...

If you're going to do the drop instead, you should probably give yourself two strokes--one for the penalty and one for the "stroke." It's not legal, but it's a better approximation than just taking the penalty stroke.

**Zeph** · April 21, 2010

Out of bounds is not a hazard. Out of bounds is the end of the golf course you can play at. If the ball hit and ends up is OB, it cannot be dropped. New ball from the original place is the only option here. If it was a tee shot, you can tee the ball up.

**Fat Slice** · April 21, 2010

if your ball hits OB and then bounces back in bounds; you'd play it as being in bounds.

That's what I did after I nailed a house 50 yards OB and the ball came rocketing back into the fairway with that nice putty color paint on it. Chose a club and played on!

**Greg** · April 21, 2010

most of the time you can never go back to the tee, someone else is already there and they wouldnt appreciate you doing that. If its a foot OB and not in a hazard, I'd play it unless youre in a tournament or something or under a fence, keep pace of play up. Going back and teeing up again is great in a tournament where its required but in a casual round give me a break. Golf has so many dumb rules that slow play down that dont matter if you're just out having fun. Ive never went back to the tee to rehit a shot OB, i just try to guess where it went out and play a penaltly shot from there.

**clearwaterms** · April 22, 2010

most of the time you can never go back to the tee, someone else is already there and they wouldnt appreciate you doing that. If its a foot OB and not in a hazard, I'd play it unless youre in a tournament or something or under a fence, keep pace of play up. Going back and teeing up again is great in a tournament where its required but in a casual round give me a break. Golf has so many dumb rules that slow play down that dont matter if you're just out having fun. Ive never went back to the tee to rehit a shot OB, i just try to guess where it went out and play a penaltly shot from there.

The good news is that most people who follow every rule and would walk back to the tee box are also usually not the ones that are holding up the course. The people that are holding up the course are the people who are sitting 230+ yards away from the green and not hitting up to the green because ONE TIME they hit a 3 wood at the range and it rolled past the 200, so if they hit it JUST right, they could make it on the green in two. THe reality is that that person has not hit a tee shot 230 yards yet for the day. Or the people that play the champion tee's but have never broken 100 from the whites. Or the people who have to follow each other to the players balls like a freight train, or the people who have to pace off yardage but then proceed to top or duff two consecutive shots from the fairway. sorry was just ranting about the last few rounds where I find people in front of me are holding me up.

**msd3075** · April 22, 2010

most of the time you can never go back to the tee, someone else is already there and they wouldnt appreciate you doing that. If its a foot OB and not in a hazard, I'd play it unless youre in a tournament or something or under a fence, keep pace of play up. Going back and teeing up again is great in a tournament where its required but in a casual round give me a break. Golf has so many dumb rules that slow play down that dont matter if you're just out having fun. Ive never went back to the tee to rehit a shot OB, i just try to guess where it went out and play a penaltly shot from there.

Golf does have some strange rules for non-golfers, but for anyone that plays the game seriously they'll understand the meaning behind each rule and the reasoning as to why they are written the way they are. I know it seems tedious to have to walk back to the tee to hit your shot, but that is why the rules allow you to hit a provisional; it doesn't hold up play at all except for maybe an extra 30 seconds, and it allows you to still follow the intent of the rules. I completely agree that for a casual round it's not always convenient to play the OB rules correctly and I myself am guilty of throwing a ball down near where it went OB just to speed up play (even when no one is behind me). My main reasoning for being guilty of this is because for a handicap round and by following ESC rules, my max score I can take on a hole is double bogey. Unless I pull off a "birdie" (not counting the OB strokes), I'm going to end up marking down a double bogey either way. There wouldn't be a point to waste time if I know I'm marking down a double.

**CarlSpackler** · April 22, 2010

If I suspect that my ball might be OB, I will play a provisional (from the tee or fairway; hopefully never from the green ;) ). If my original is in bounds, I pick up the provisional and play on. Doing this is within the rules and keeps pace of play. For a lost ball, I will take the walk back and let the group behind me through. It's a pain, but you gotta play by the rules.

BTW - The day I putt one OB is the day I quit the game.

**Ignorant** · April 22, 2010

The people that are holding up the course are the people who are sitting 230+ yards away from the green and not hitting up to the green because ONE TIME they hit a 3 wood at the range and it rolled past the 200, so if they hit it JUST right, they could make it on the green in two. THe reality is that that person has not hit a tee shot 230 yards yet for the day.

You must have missed the idea of safety on the course completely.

If there is even a REMOTE chance that my ball might reach the group in front of mine I refuse to proceed. Waiting for another minute NEVER holds up the course as it is already packed when that kind of situation occurs.

**Greg** · April 23, 2010

Provisional is what i usually do if i think tee shot is out of bounds, then i make sure i know where the provisional went and look for original ball. It does depend on how busy the course is. But i have never went back to the tee and hit another tee shot and have never seen another golfer do it either whether playing along side or ahead of me. I realize thats not completely following the rules and If i were playing in a tournament i wouldnt be able to do that. I recently hit 3 shots ob in a row on a par 4 down at crab orchard in carterville il, ending up making a 10 on that hole. In that case i was 100% certain all shots were ob so i kept hitting tee shots until i got on in bounds. As far as hitting into the group in front of me, i wait until a group is at least 300 yards ahead of me, give or take a few as I have never hit the ball that far though with the new driver im waiting to arrive, who knows, have to find out how it works out.

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