Tee box & ground under repair

[David Massery]

At one of our local muni courses, there is a par 3 that the tee box markers are never moved and there is no grass within 2 club lengths of the tee box.  My buddy and I disagree on weather i can move to a grassy area to hit from.  I understand that if we were playing in a tournament it would be under penalty but if we were playing in a tournament the tee box would not be at that location and the location would be marked ground under repair.

Can anyone tell me the actual ruling on this matter?

[saevel25]

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Massery

At one of our local muni courses, there is a par 3 that the tee box markers are never moved and there is no grass within 2 club lengths of the tee box.  My buddy and I disagree on weather i can move to a grassy area to hit from.  I understand that if we were playing in a tournament it would be under penalty but if we were playing in a tournament the tee box would not be at that location and the location would be marked ground under repair.

Can anyone tell me the actual ruling on this matter?

If it isn't marked as Ground Under Repair by the committee then you have to play from it.

If you are playing for your handicap under USGA rules then you are required to play where the tee markers are located at.

If you are playing casually, then drop off to the side if you want.

In a tournament they would probably have moved the tee markers to a different tee box, forward or backward. If there wasn't another tee box then you'd probably be forced to play off that surface or they make a temporary tee box off to the side.

In Match Play there is no penalty but the opponent may force you to re hit the shot. If this was a tournament where there was multiple match play matches and if two people agree'd upon to not play from the tee box they would probably be disqualified for waiving part of the rules on their own, see rule 1-3. Even though there is no penalty for actually hitting outside the tee box. They did waive the rule which required them to play from where the tee box is located at.

Under stroke play it's a two stroke penalty and then you MUST replay the shot from the tee ground. If you decide to move on and still play the hole. At the end of the round you would end up signing the wrong score since those strokes did not count. That would be a disqualification.

Quote:

11-4 . Playing from Outside Teeing Ground

a . Match Play

If a player, when starting a hole, plays a ball from outside the teeing ground , there is no penalty, but the opponent may immediately require the player to cancel the stroke and play a ball from within the teeing ground .

b . Stroke Play

If a competitor , when starting a hole, plays a ball from outside the teeing ground , he incurs a penalty of two strokes and must then play a ball from within the teeing ground .

If the competitor makes a stroke from the next teeing ground without first correcting his mistake or, in the case of the last hole of the round, leaves the putting green without first declaring his intention to correct his mistake, he is disqualified .

The stroke from outside the teeing ground and any subsequent strokes by the competitor on the hole prior to his correction of the mistake do not count in his score.

That is the way I see it.

[Fourputt]

At one of our local muni courses, there is a par 3 that the tee box markers are never moved and there is no grass within 2 club lengths of the tee box.  My buddy and I disagree on weather i can move to a grassy area to hit from.  I understand that if we were playing in a tournament it would be under penalty but if we were playing in a tournament the tee box would not be at that location and the location would be marked ground under repair.

Can anyone tell me the actual ruling on this matter?

Initial feeling is that since it's a tee shot, you can put the ball on a peg, so grass isn't that much of an issue.

[ColinL]

Initial feeling is that since it's a tee shot, you can put the ball on a peg, so grass isn't that much of an issue.

Except for players who like to play an iron shot off grass.  But it's not that much different from having to play off an artificial mat.

[DrvFrShow]

You can put your ball on the tee inside the markers and stand outside if it's your footing that's bothering you. I played in a tournament and they had the tees around a dip and the only flat lie was to put my ball just inside the left marker and stand outside. It raised a few eyebrows but it was perfectly legal because I played the ball within the teeing area. Just was a little creative. I saw a seasoned player do this in a prior tournament in a similar situation.

So basically if you play from outside the box and move on, the round is disqualified and from then on you're playing a casual round.