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NWO Golf Links
THE SECOND HOLE WAS A SHORT
and straight
par-3, wooded on both sides of the fairway, with the
back of the green sloping down into a wooded area.
Dick had honors and was standing in
the tee box, reading aloud the
yardage marker.
“It’s 127 yards from tee to
pin (officially known as
‘flagstick’). Hmm, that’s
not gonna work for me.
I hit this club 135 yards.
Guess I’ll just add a
couple yards to my shot.”
Dick then took several
steps in the opposite
direction from the green,
placing himself just beyond the tee
box. He teed up his ball and stroked a beautiful shot
that landed a yard from the hole.
“And that’s how you do it,”
he stated.
The only problem was Dick hit from outside the
teeing ground, defined as a rectangle two clubs
deep in which the tee markers define the front side
and its length. The penalty for hitting outside the
teeing ground in stroke play is two strokes, and you
must correct any error before completing the hole by
going back to the teeing ground and re-hitting your
shot. Strokes from outside the area do not count.
USGA rules#11-1(1). I know golfers that have been
playing for decades and still get this rule wrong.
The Teeing Grounds
RICHARD TODD
Learn how to play the game correctly
in The Golf Rules series. This story and
many others, explain the rules of golf in
an entertaining way.