The teeing area
When referring to the tee, most golfers will naturally think of the tee box – often raised - from which they start every hole, but the definition of ‘teeing area’ under the Rules is a lot more precise than that. The teeing area is a rectangle two club-lengths in depth, with the forward-most points and outer-most sides of the tee markers defining its outer limits.
‘Club-length’ is also now a defined term under the Rules (the longest club you are carrying for that round, excluding your putter). This means you may have to be a little careful about how far you go back if you’ve decided to venture a little further towards the back edge, perhaps to avoid an uneven patch of ground or to get a very precise yardage on a par 3.
A ball is considered to be inside the teeing area even if only a tiny part of the ball overlaps the edge of the area. It is perfectly permissible to stand outside the teeing area to play, as long as your ball remains within it. This might be to make maximum use of the angle on the hole or to allow you to hit your preferred shot shape more comfortably.
Playing from outside the teeing area or from the wrong set of markers is effectively the same offence under Rule 6.1b, but while the ramifications can be quite severe in stroke play, in match play, whether or not you are penalised at all is entirely at the discretion of your opponent.
In stroke play, you incur the general penalty (two strokes). You must then correct your error by playing a ball from inside the teeing area before making a stroke at your next hole, or before returning your scorecard if it happens on your final hole, with all strokes played with the ball from outside the teeing area being disregarded. Unfortunately, if you don’t correct your mistake in time, you will be disqualified.
In match play, there is no penalty, but your opponent may immediately request that you cancel the stroke and play another ball from within the teeing area. That decision is entirely up to your opponent and may well depend on where your ball has gone or how generous they’re feeling that day.
Finally, any time your ball is lying in the teeing area of the hole you’re playing, it may be re-teed anywhere within that teeing area. So, if your foursomes partner almost misses it and it just topples off the tee, you may then re-tee the ball if it hadn’t made it outside the teeing area – very handy if you’re facing a long drive over water!
“CLUB-LENGTH IS NOW A DEFINED TERM UNDER THE RULES”