The Rules of Golf are tricky! Thankfully, we’ve got the guru. Our Rules Guy knows the book front to back. Got a question? He’s got all the answers.
A friend and I reached a tee box with only one marker. We played from where we thought was reasonable, guessing at the other marker’s location. Was that okay? —Warren Ayala, Anthem, Ariz.
In match play, you and your opponent (or friend or frenemy) can agree on how to decide the issue.
In stroke play, where the distinction becomes more important, contact the Committee. Not reachable? Per Rule 6.2b(4), use reasonable judgment to try to play from the two club-length rectangle based on the front and outside edges of the tee marker. Clever Committees will dot tee markers’ positions with spray paint for this eventuality.
For more tee-related guidance from our guru, read on …
Rules Guy: If I play from the wrong tees, can I correct the mistake without penalty?
In a recent match-play competition, my opponent addressed his ball and started his swing. Mid-swing, his ball rolled forward off the tee, and he wound up hitting the moving ball. (The shot even found the fairway.) I know the rules penalize a player who strikes a ball in motion. What’s the story here? I’m hoping you say two-stroke penalty or loss of hole. — Erik Morrison, via email
Not exactly the soul of generosity, Erik, but at least you’re honest.
The general principle in golf, as laid out in Rule 10.1(d), is that you must play the ball at rest and can’t make a stroke at a moving ball, lest you indeed incur the general penalty of two strokes in stroke play and loss of hole in match play.
However — and this is where your disappointment will kick in — there is a carve-out where, if the ball starts moving during one’s backswing, and you hit the ball while it’s moving, there is no penalty.
That’s true as it relates specifically to a ball falling off a tee, per Rule 6.2(b)/5 — yes, the rules contemplate almost everything — and everywhere else, per Rule 9.1(b). In these scenarios, the stroke counts and you play the next shot from where it lies.
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Got a question about the Rules? Ask the Rules Guy! Send your queries, confusions and comments to rulesguy@golf.com. We promise he won’t throw the book at you.
