

A ball is deemed to be outside the teeing ground if all of it lies outside of the teeing ground, but you may stand outside the teeing ground to play a ball inside it if it suits your shot shape or how you envisage playing the hole.

Playing from outside the teeing ground or the wrong tee are technically two separate ‘offences’, but the outcomes and penalties are the same in both scenarios under Rule 11, although there are big differences between stroke play and match play.

Playing from outside the teeing ground (Rule 11-4) would most commonly occur through lack of concentration, or perhaps care, if the tee-markers are set wide apart when it can be all too easy to end up slightly ahead of them. Playing from the wrong tee (Rule 11-5) may seem more unlikely, but it does happen, either through going to the wrong hole when tees are set close together on an unfamiliar course, or more likely when you absent-mindedly tee off from the yellows when the competition is being played from the whites.


As indicated earlier, the penalties are the same for both offences, with a much greater impact in stroke play. If you play from in front of or outside the tee-markers in stroke play, you incur a two-shot penalty, and must then play a ball from the correct teeing ground before teeing off on the next hole, or, if you are on your final hole, state your intention to do so before leaving the putting green. The penalty escalates from two strokes to disqualification if you fail to do this.

The ‘good’ news is that any strokes with the ball played from outside the teeing ground or wrong tee do not count in your score.

Related content: how you can use the Rules to your advantage
