Determining Out of Bounds

[saevel25]

Yea, it seems clear that if it isn’t marked or set by the committee it’s in bounds. Now, should you go trespassing to hit a ball. 😉

[Carl3]

This is a great discussion. Other parts of the course where there are houses have white stakes and signs. This keeps people from trespassing and hitting shots on their property. There is another county road on the east side of the course that does not have white stakes like the hole I described. I checked the score card and there is nothing to indicate these roadways are OB.

1 hour ago, saevel25 said:

Yea, it seems clear that if it isn’t marked or set by the committee it’s in bounds. Now, should you go trespassing to hit a ball. 😉

I think a county drainage ditch would be considered government right-of-way so it is the peoples land 🤣. But you are in the power industry and know more about those sorts of things than me.

[saevel25]

On 7/19/2025 at 3:07 PM, Carl3 said:

I think a county drainage ditch would be considered government right-of-way so it is the peoples land 🤣. But you are in the power industry and know more about those sorts of things than me.

Not sure what the road ROW is out there, lol. 

If it is a private road, then the ditch could just be required by the county for the landowner to install and maintain. 

[Carl3]

On 7/24/2025 at 1:19 PM, saevel25 said:

Not sure what the road ROW is out there, lol. 

If it is a private road, then the ditch could just be required by the county for the landowner to install and maintain. 

There are utilities buried along there. I did talk to the one of the course owners today and he said it was OB. When I mentioned "the committee" (USGA and R&A terminology) it didn't seem to register with him.

[iacas]

5 minutes ago, Carl3 said:

There are utilities buried along there. I did talk to the one of the course owners today and he said it was OB. When I mentioned "the committee" (USGA and R&A terminology) it didn't seem to register with him.

They need to mark it or declare it as such. Even just a thing on the back of the scorecard would do.

[2-PuttMcGee]

On 3/25/2014 at 9:57 AM, scerpico22 said:

My thought of the grass line being used to determine OB makes no sense. And I appreciate your responses.  That being said...in this particular situation...where the other white stake was missing for whatever reason...I guess at this point one would simply use best judgement.

Ha — I love this one. You drive into what looks like a neighbor’s yard (cue the staring out the window), your buddy makes a ruling faster than Hogan dinked a 3-footer… and suddenly you’re buying a penalty stroke. 😆

Seriously though, OB is defined by the stakes (or whatever the committee sets), grass-cutting height, homeowner’s mower patterns, or Bob’s backyard landscaping hobby do not count unless the local rules say so. If you have only one stake and no guidance from the club, go with the benefit of the doubt (especially in casual play). If someone still insists you’re OB, challenge them to produce the missing white stake: or better yet, give them the penalty stroke and move on. 😉

At the end of the day, golf rules are there to keep things fair, not to turn your round into a landscaping dispute.

[SG11118]

On 7/10/2015 at 4:49 AM, MyrtleBeachGolf said:

I'm just finding it odd that COST can be a major reason why courses are poorly marked, when it costs just pennies to put up a stake? That's all I'm saying. Doesn't make any sense to me.

The cost of the stake is nothing.  The bigger cost is the extra work to mow and trim around the stakes every single time you mow and trim.

[imsys0042]

On 10/16/2025 at 12:17 PM, SG11118 said:

The cost of the stake is nothing.  The bigger cost is the extra work to mow and trim around the stakes every single time you mow and trim.

I wonder if that is why my home course basically have no stakes now.  Not even markers.  It’s completely up to golfers to remember what is OB and hazard and how things used to be marked.  
 

Even in tournaments, there is no marking and certain areas are played differently by different golfers who either don’t know better or use it to their advantage

funny reading thru this with courses that actually have markers 

[DaveP043]

8 hours ago, imsys0042 said:

I wonder if that is why my home course basically have no stakes now.  Not even markers.  It’s completely up to golfers to remember what is OB and hazard and how things used to be marked.  
 

Even in tournaments, there is no marking and certain areas are played differently by different golfers who either don’t know better or use it to their advantage

funny reading thru this with courses that actually have markers 

Interestingly enough, if the course (the Committee in Rules terms) doesn't mark the boundaries, there is nothing out of bounds.  I realize that neighboring homeowners would take a dim view of golfers whacking balls from their backyards, but that's what the Definition of Out of Bounds requires.

"All areas outside the boundary edge of the course as defined by the Committee."

[saevel25]

4 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

I realize that neighboring homeowners would take a dim view of golfers whacking balls from their backyards, but that's what the Definition of Out of Bounds requires.

"All areas outside the boundary edge of the course as defined by the Committee."

I mean, a golfer is trespassing and damaging property. So, golf rules don’t supersede state laws. 😉

Like, if it isn’t marked and is off golf property. The right thing to do is take an unplayable lie or take stroke and distance. 

Also, this is a liability for the course. The homeowner could easily say the course is liable for damage done because they knowingly didn't mark their boundaries which allowed golfers to trespass and damage property.