Out of Bounds and Lost Ball Rules in Golf

Out of bounds

The edge of the course is usually marked with white stakes or a white line (a course can use another color, but not red or yellow, which mark penalty areas).

• With stakes, the boundary is the course side of the stakes at ground level.
• With a line, the line itself is out of bounds.
• When there’s both, the line counts and the stakes are just there so you can see it.

A ball is out of bounds only when all of it is past that edge. If any part of the ball is on or inside the boundary, it’s in bounds and you play it.

Lost ball

A ball is lost if you don’t find it within 3 minutes of when you (or your caddie) start looking. If you find a ball in time but aren’t sure it’s yours, you get a reasonable time to check.

If you know or are virtually certain that the ball went into a penalty area, it isn’t treated as lost: you use the penalty area options instead, which usually save you the walk back.

What to do: stroke and distance

For a ball that’s out of bounds or lost, the rule is stroke and distance: add one penalty stroke and play again from where you made the last stroke.

Where the last shot was from	How you play again
The tee	Anywhere in the teeing area, and you can tee it up
The fairway, rough, a bunker or a penalty area	Drop within one club-length of where you hit it, in the same kind of area, not nearer the hole
The putting green	Place it on the spot you putted from

Counting strokes: your tee shot goes out of bounds. That’s stroke 1, the penalty is 2, and the next tee shot is your 3rd.

Save the walk: hit a provisional

If you think your ball might be lost or out of bounds, hit a provisional ball right away. If the first one is gone, the provisional becomes your ball with the penalty stroke counted, and you haven’t had to walk back.

The local rule: drop ahead for two strokes

Many courses, for casual and club play, adopt a local rule (Model Local Rule E-5) so you don’t have to go back at all. It’s only in force if the course or the competition says so: check the scorecard or the posted local rules, or ask in the pro shop.

Under it, for two penalty strokes, you drop in a wide area near where the ball was lost or went out:

• Find where the ball was lost or last crossed the boundary (the ball reference point), and the nearest point of fairway to it, no nearer the hole.
• You can drop anywhere between a line from the hole through the first point and a line from the hole through the second, plus two club-lengths outside each line. It has to be in the general area (not a bunker or green) and not nearer the hole than where the ball was lost.

You end up hitting the same shot you would have after a provisional: lose your tee shot and you play your 4th from near where it went.

You can’t use it:

• for a ball in a penalty area (use the penalty-area options),
• for an unplayable ball, or
• for your original ball if you already hit a provisional (play the provisional instead).

Once you drop under the local rule, the original ball is out of play even if someone finds it a minute later.

The local rule isn’t meant for elite competitions. In a tournament for strong players, assume stroke and distance unless told otherwise.