OB Rules

[jones]

I have a question concerning hitting the ball out of bounds.

I generally miss 1 to 3 out of bounds each round, and my understanding of the rules is that I have to take a drop 2 clublengths from where it went out of bounds.

When playing with a friend, they said that I could drop it on the fairway but no closer to the hole instead of under the trees where I made the drop.

Is this true? What is the official word on making drops when going out of bounds, or not being able to find my ball in the woods?

[Leftygolfer]

That is totally wrong.

You have to rehit from where you hit from take a stroke and hit 3 (if off the tee).

[1par2win]

  jones said:

I have a question concerning hitting the ball out of bounds.

No, I'm afraid dropping a ball two club lenghts isn't legal. It's stroke at distance meaning you drop a ball nearest to where you hit your last. It's a killer rule. And losing a ball is considered a lost ball which is the same as OB meaning again stroke and distance.

[CarlSpackler]

  1par2win said:

No, I'm afraid dropping a ball two club lenghts isn't legal. It's stroke at distance meaning you drop a ball nearest to where you hit your last. It's a killer rule. And losing a ball is considered a lost ball which is the same as OB meaning again stroke and distance.

I will only add that if it was a tee shot that goes OB, you can tee it up for your 3rd. If it goes OB too, you are then teeing up 5. If you think your shot goes OB or lost, you can drop or tee a provisional ball. If your ball is indeed OB or lost, then you will be playing 4 from where your provisional ended up. If you play a provisional for a potentially lost ball, your provisional is out of play if your ball is found.

Hope that helps.

[Smarf]

  CarlSpackler said:

I will only add that if it was a tee shot that goes OB, you can tee it up for your 3rd. If it goes OB too, you are then teeing up 5.

Why wouldn't the second OB be teeing up 6 instead of 5? How can it be a two stroke penalty the first time and only one the second time?

[jonnythan]

  Smarf said:

Why wouldn't the second OB be teeing up 6 instead of 5? How can it be a two stroke penalty the first time and only one the second time?

1: Hit OB

2: place back at tee 3: Hit OB 4: place back at tee 5: Hit OB 6: place back at tee 7: Hit OB or: 1: Hit OB 2: Penalty, place back at tee 3: Hit OB 4: Penalty, place back at tee 5: Hit OB 6: Penalty, place back at tee etc etc. It's not a two stroke penalty. It's a one stroke penalty and re-tee (or, rather, place the ball back where it was initially hit and hit it again).

[Diddy]

Think of it this way:

Stroke #1 -- hit the ball from the tee into the woods OB
Stroke #2 -- bring the ball back to the tee
Stroke #3 -- hit the ball off the tee again. Into the woods and OB (again)
Stroke #4 -- bring the ball back to the tee
Stroke #5 -- hit the ball off the tee again. Hopefully keep it in play this time!

That's how I usually think of shots I hit OB. Sadly, I have plenty of time to think about it

[Diddy]

Great minds think alike, jonnythan!

[SubPar]

The penalty is "Stroke and distance", unless there is a local "90 degree rule". Some courses will let you drop the ball two club lengths in bounds, with a one stroke penalty, 90 degrees from where the ball came to rest. This is to avoid slowing down play by going back to the original spot.

SubPar

[CarlSpackler]

  Smarf said:

Why wouldn't the second OB be teeing up 6 instead of 5? How can it be a two stroke penalty the first time and only one the second time?

Your fist ball went OB so you hit your second with a penalty making it your 3rd. It goes OB, so now you play your 4th with a penalty which is your 5th. Hopefully you have gone back to your bag for an iron by now, but if not, the next would be laying 7.

[TN94z]

  jones said:

I have a question concerning hitting the ball out of bounds.

You must be thinking about a hazard. Out of bounds is a very tough penalty and is stroke and distance as stated. Lost balls are bad too!!

[Zeph]

  TN94z said:

You must be thinking about a hazard. Out of bounds is a very tough penalty and is stroke and distance as stated. Lost balls are bad too!!

Oh yeah. Hitting OB is bad enough for my scorecard, but having to lose a ball at the same time? It's a killer shot!

[jones]

Wow, I have been playing incorrectly for a while now. When I play I generally get put in a foursome and many of the people I play with do the same with a lost ball. Sounds to me this is a rule that a lot of people are not aware of.

[TN94z]

  jones said:

Wow, I have been playing incorrectly for a while now. When I play I generally get put in a foursome and many of the people I play with do the same with a lost ball. Sounds to me this is a rule that a lot of people are not aware of.

It is also a rule that many people "don't want to be aware of." I am not referring to you. I have played with guys that know the rules but either a)don't play a provisional because they are "sure" it is up b) they don't want to drive back to the tee box because they didn't hit a provisional or c) they want to play it the right way in fear of what their ultimate score will be

[jones]

  TN94z said:

It is also a rule that many people "don't want to be aware of." I am not referring to you. I have played with guys that know the rules but either a)don't play a provisional because they are "sure" it is up b) they don't want to drive back to the tee box because they didn't hit a provisional or c) they want to play it the right way in fear of what their ultimate score will be

This is how I learned to play. I have never had any formal training for golf (never have taken a lesson) so I just listen to what people tell me on the course and after hearing it and seeing certain things done so many times figured it was the way to play.

This will definitely change the way I play. Generally when near OB, I hadn't bothered worrying about going out of bounds because I could just drop 2 club lengths away because the one stroke penalty wasn't too big of a deal to me. Now that I know that I must re-hit, I will definitely take OB into consideration and will change the club that I hit.

[cirem22]

so what is the rule when hitting OB and it is NOT your tee shot?

[jonnythan]

  cirem22 said:

so what is the rule when hitting OB and it is NOT your tee shot?

It's the same.

Place the ball at the closest possible spot to the original lie and hit it again after taking your penalty.

[CarlSpackler]

  cirem22 said:

so what is the rule when hitting OB and it is NOT your tee shot?

You have to drop a ball from the where you hit it. So if you hit your second shot OB, you have to drop from where you hit that shot and play your 4th. Same with a lost ball.

Tonight I hit a horrible tee shot into waist high grass. It might have cleared on the other side, but I hit a provisional for a lost ball. My opponent asked me why and I told him that I am entitled to play a provisional in case mine is lost. Sure enough, my tee ball was nowhere to be found and I played my fourth from my provisional. He thought that it was acceptable to drop two club lengths from where it went into the grass, but it is not marked with red stakes. As it turns out, he could not find his ball in the rough and forfeited the hole because he didn't want to walk back to the tee.