I have a question that i have not been able to find the answer to. I have seen pros taking a club and smacking the grass on the teeing area and use the clump as their tee. Well i did try it on a par 3 and i hit it better than i think i have ever hit it. So my question is, If you had a small square of turf that you wanted to use when on the teeing area, is it legal to put that down or is it just using the clumped up grass that is on the area already.
6.2b(2) says
(2) Ball May Be Teed or Played from Ground. The ball must be played from either:
A tee placed in or on the ground, or
The ground itself.
For purposes of this Rule, the “ground” includes sand or other natural materials put in place to set the tee or ball on.
Rule 6.2b(3) says:
(3) Certain Conditions in Teeing Area May Be Improved. Before making a stroke, the player may take these actions in the teeing area to improve the conditions affecting the stroke (see Rule 8.1b(8)):
Alter the surface of the ground in the teeing area (such as by making an indentation with a club or foot),
So you can make a little divot, or can raise a bit of turf with your club or foot. I’m not sure that a bit of detached turf would fit the phrase " sand or other natural materials put in place to set the tee or ball on", but I think it just might be legal. I hope someone with better knowledge than I have will chime in.
I think if by “turf” you mean artificial turf, that would be illegal, but a piece of a divot would be fine. There are places that use turf mats during the winter to protect the grass, and I believe in those cases they enact a local rule to allow the use of turf.
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When you say “a small square of turf” are you referring to the ground or an outside piece of equipment?
This article goes through the “turf tee”
Yes i was reading that but that is where i got caught up. Weather or not placing a small piece is the same as making the indentation. And the reason i was asking is i hate to stand on every tee where i am going to use an iron and try to dig my club into it. Just looks tacky doing that, at least that is how i feel when i tried it.
so basically if you used a small piece from a divot and put it in the cart to use during that round. It was still part of the course, just not from the exact hole you found it.
Yes actually Laura was the first one i saw do it and i liked the idea, so when i tried it on a par 3, i was amazed at how comfortable i felt hitting it. I know it is all in the mind but out there, that is a big part of it.
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The rule says “sand or other natural material” . It seems to me that a bit of turf that has been removed (i.e. a divot) certainly is natural, and certainly is being used to set the ball on. Sounds legal to me, the more I think about it.
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I would think you could…
This is a great topic. I find myself turf teeing at the range a lot but never thought about it on the actual tee box and it’s legality. Now I know, and knowing is half the battle.
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Like others have said, I don’t think there is anything in the rules to say this isn’t allowed, so I’d say it is. I wouldn’t expect to get more than one hit off that piece of turf though.
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Interesting! But the explanation of the rules gives me a weird idea…What if a golfer wanted to hit off the grass at the tee box no tee of any type , say an iron cause it’s windy, and then tee up and hit their 2nd shot, from the fairway or wherever it landed? It seems the rules would allow it…
Rule 6.2 defines the teeing area and that’s the only place a tee may be used. I’ve thought about the same though!
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Thanks for the info, oh well that spoils my secret plan, LOL
An interesting change in the 2019 rules, you may tee up ANY shot you’re playing from the teeing area (defined as the teeing area that you are playing on the hole you’re playing). So if you whack one off a tree and it rebounds back into the teeing area, you can pick it up and put it on a tee. If you top it so badly that it remains behind and between the markers, you can tee it up for your second.
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I never use a tee with an iron, hybrid or fairway from the tee box. Less spin.
Jon what are your interpretations of this with the rules, and have you ever used this. Just curious.
To be honest I’ve never really thought of it! Occasionally on short par 3s, I will smack the ground to create a little indentation in the grass, but that’s about it (other than using a tee). I am very far from a rules aficionado
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Isn’t the teeeing area as defined in the rules the area between the two markers and 2 club lengths back behind those markers making a rectangle? So the chance of you hitting a tree and landing in the teeeing area is extremely small and you may well get hit by your own ball. Feel free to correct me.