Being out of bounds in golf carries one of the more severe penalties in the game. You must replay your previous shot and count the original and the repeated stroke as well as a penalty stroke, so the damage is effectively two strokes. This could be enough to spoil your mood if not the entire round. Before assessing yourself the penalty strokes, make sure your ball really is out of bounds, which is not always as straightforward as it might seem.
Step 1
Check near your ball for the presence and position of white stakes or a white line painted on the ground, as these almost always mark boundaries.
Step 2
Determine whether your ball is beyond the white line or an imaginary line drawn between the white stakes on either side of the ball. The stakes might not line up evenly or be regularly spaced, so check carefully.
Step 3
Verify that the entire ball is beyond the imaginary or painted line. This might require you to sight the ball between the bases of two adjacent stakes. The position of the ball relative to the boundary is what defines the out of bounds, not the position of your feet as you attempt to play the next shot. Remember also that the line or the stakes themselves are out of bounds, so the inside edge of the marker is the boundary.
Step 4
Look at the back of the score card for a list of local rules for the course you are playing. Often it will define course boundaries such as a public road or a fence, which might not always be marked with white stakes. If your ball is in a parking lot, it is not out of bounds unless the area is marked or listed as such in these local rules.
Step 5
If an outside agency caused your ball to be out of bounds, you can return it to the course without penalty. A stationary object your ball strikes is not an outside agency, but a person or animal interfering with the ball is.
Step 6
Accept the out of bounds penalty if none of the conditions described above applies. Go back to replay your shot and add the new stroke as well as the penalty stroke.
Posted in: Golf