In case you don't recognize it, this is the sixth hole at Pebble Beach (well, I once had a photo I pulled off the internet above this paragraph...). Alistair McKenzie's genius. Awesome par 5. Great tee shot challenge as the fairway pinches in between bunkers and the cliff edge, even greater 2nd over an uphill rough area onto a plateau, and a pitch right into the sea breeze for your third. But it gets even better - the par 3 7th is awaiting you - 100 yards of sheer terror downhill and into that same breeze. Someday I may spend some money and play it.
As we dive deeper into the rule book we’re narrowing out focus. We’ve talked about playing a course, using equipment, playing a round, types of play, and now we’re moving into the nitty gritty, nuts-and-bolts details of playing each hole.
Rule 6 starts out logically with how to ‘start’ a hole. All of us probably know this, but a hole starts when you intend to put a ball into play. On every hole on the course there is a special area known as the “teeing area”, and by rule, you are supposed to start a hole from that area. Because of that, we should know exactly what the definition is of that area:
The teeing area is a rectangle that is two club-lengths deep where:
· The front edge is defined by the line between the forward-most points of two tee-markers set by the Committee, and
· The side edges are defined by the lines back from the outside points of the tee-markers.
The teeing area is one of the five defined areas of the course.
All other teeing locations on the course (whether on the same hole or any other hole) are part of the general area.
By the way, by rule, if any part of the ball touches or is above the rectangle, you’re fine. So, It is possible to tee up with the center of the ball just ahead of the markers as long as the back end of the ball is between the tee markers. You’re also allowed to stand outside the teeing area to make your stroke.
So, you always want to place your ball inside that rectangular box when teeing off. Seems like a simple request and easy to abide by, but there are repercussions if you play a shot to start a hole in which the ball isn’t in the rectangle.
For instance, the committee for a competition states that all play will be from the blue tees. A competitor (or competitors) forget this requirement and play their first stroke on a hole from the white tees. Remembering prior to making their second shot, they make their way back to the blue tees and wonder how to handle their blunder…
If it were a match play event, the competitors could cancel the stroke or strokes, go back to the appropriate teeing area and play from there, or accept the result of the tee shot or shots and play the hole out. However, if it were a stroke play event, all competitors must abide by the committee’s teeing area location and they would have to disregard their tee shots from the white tees (and any penalties that go with them), go to the blue tees and play their tee shots with a two stroke penalty added to their scorecard.
How about a competitor playing from the correct tee box, but he tees up his ball outside the rectangle? Same rules apply as in the previous paragraph. I talked about this in a previous blog entry, but you should be able to take advantage of the two-club deep rectangle. There’s probably better grass as you step back in the box, especially if you’re playing a shot without a tee. You don’t always have to play right between the markers.
Now, when does a hole start? It starts when each player intends to put a ball into play (whether they’re playing from inside the teeing area or not). If you’re on the tee box and make a practice swing which knocks the ball off of the tee, no stroke – but only because you did not intend to hit the ball. Do the same thing in the middle of the fairway with a ball in play? Add a stroke penalty for accidentally moving the ball and replace the ball (or substitute another). “Whiffs” on the tee box are still a stroke. If you intend to hit a ball and you miss – that’s ALWAYS a stroke. However, a whiff on the tee box allows you to do some things you couldn’t do in the fairway – as long as your ball is still in that rectangular teeing area, you can substitute another ball, re-tee in any portion of the teeing area, or elect to play off the ground if you like.
The teeing area is a special place. You have the option of placing your ball on a tee, you can pile up dirt to make your own natural tee, or you always have the option of placing your ball on the grass or dirt of the teeing area and hitting off of that. If you’ve positioned the ball and it moves before the ball is struck, you have the option to replace it without penalty. You can improve the area behind the teed ball by pushing the soil down with your foot or your club, you can remove weeds, and you can remove frost or dew. Once you’ve teed up a ball, if you want you may pull it off the tee, move the tee, change the level of the tee you’re allowed until you make a stroke at the ball.
There is another thing about the teeing area that’s quite special. If you invoke a rule that allows you to re-hit from the teeing area, you can use all of the options available in the teeing area for the next stroke – you don’t have to hit from exactly the same place. You can place your ball anywhere within the teeing area. You can use a tee (or not) even if you did or didn’t on the previous stroke. However, if you’re playing from the white tees and knock your tee shot up to the red tees you are not entitled to tee up your ball, nor are you entitled to relief from the red tees - you have to play that 2nd shot from where it came to rest on the red tees.
The tee markers are set by the committee, and especially in stroke play competitions, cannot be moved or altered to start play on a hole. However, in cases in which a tee marker is an obstruction, they can be moved to make a stroke, but they must be moved back to their original location once the stroke is made.