What happens if your ball is out of bounds?

Yes, it's stroke-and-distance. If your ball is out of bounds, you add 1 penalty stroke and replay from where you hit the previous shot (Rule 18.2). There is no option to drop near the boundary under the standard rules.

The rule

Out of bounds is defined by white stakes or white lines. Under Rule 18.2, a ball is OB only if all of it lies out of bounds — if any part of the ball touches or is inside the OB line, it's in bounds. The penalty is stroke-and-distance: add 1 stroke and play again from where the previous stroke was made. When you take stroke-and-distance relief, the original ball is no longer in play and a substituted ball becomes the ball in play — see the broader rule on when you must finish a hole with the same ball you teed off with (Rule 6.3a).

Real example

Your drive lands past the white stakes on the right side of the hole. The ball is OB. You must return to the tee, add 1 penalty stroke, and play your third shot from the tee box.

What to do on the course

• If you think the ball might be OB, play a provisional ball from the same spot before going forward — the 3-minute search clock is already running, so send someone ahead to look while you play the provisional; then, if you find the original in bounds, the rules on which ball takes precedence determine whether you pick up the provisional or continue with it
• Check whether the ball is all OB — even a sliver of the ball touching the line or inside it means the ball is in play
• White stakes themselves are OB markers and are not obstructions — you get no free relief from them
• Some courses offer a local rule "dropping zone near OB" as an alternative — check the scorecard

Penalty

1-stroke penalty + replay from the original spot (stroke-and-distance).

Out of bounds vs penalty area — the difference that costs strokes

Golfers often confuse out of bounds with a penalty area, but the relief options are completely different. Out of bounds (white stakes/lines) gives you only stroke-and-distance: go back to the previous spot, add one penalty stroke, and replay. A penalty area (red or yellow stakes/lines) lets you drop laterally within two club-lengths of where the ball last crossed the edge, or back on the line, for one penalty stroke — no need to return to the tee. If your ball is near a boundary, check the stake colour before you decide what to do. White means OB, red or yellow means penalty area. Treating OB like a penalty area and dropping nearby is playing from a wrong place: two-stroke penalty in stroke play, loss of hole in match play (Rule 14.7).

Keep reading: penalty area

Not sure whether your ball is in bounds, in a penalty area, or somewhere else? The same reasonable-judgement standard applies to every boundary on the course — see how to determine which area of the course your ball lies in.

FAQ

Is a ball out of bounds if it touches the white line?

No. If any part of the ball touches the white line or the course side of it, the ball is in bounds. It is only OB when the entire ball lies beyond the boundary (Rule 18.2a).

Can I drop near where the ball went out of bounds?

Not under the standard Rules of Golf. The only relief is stroke-and-distance: return to the previous spot, add 1 penalty stroke, and play again. A course may adopt a Local Rule (Model Local Rule E-5) allowing a drop in a designated zone, but this is not the default.

What if I'm not sure whether my ball is OB?

Play a provisional ball from the same spot before you go forward to search. If the original is found in bounds within 3 minutes, continue with it; if it's OB or not found, the provisional becomes the ball in play (Rule 18.3).

Are white stakes obstructions I can get relief from?

No. White stakes defining out of bounds are boundary objects, not obstructions. You get no free relief from them — you must play the ball as it lies or take stroke-and-distance relief if it's OB (Rule 8.1a).

Does a local rule for OB replace stroke-and-distance?

Only if the committee has adopted Model Local Rule E-5 and it's posted on the scorecard or notice board. Otherwise, stroke-and-distance under Rule 18.2 is the only option.

What if I'm playing slowly and the committee warns me about pace of play?

That's a separate issue from OB, but committees can penalise unreasonable delay under Rule 5.6a — first breach is one stroke, second is the general penalty, third is disqualification. See what are the penalties for unreasonable delay for the full ladder.

What happens if I hit a provisional ball and it also goes out of bounds?

You play another provisional from the same spot (or the tee if the first was a tee shot). Each provisional is played under stroke-and-distance. If the original is found in bounds within three minutes, all provisionals are abandoned. If the original is OB or lost, the first provisional that is in bounds becomes the ball in play (Rule 18.3c).

Can I declare my ball lost to avoid going back to the tee?

No. You cannot declare a ball lost. A ball is only lost if it is not found within three minutes of search, or if you put another ball in play under stroke-and-distance (or a provisional becomes the ball in play). Simply saying "it's lost" does not make it so (Rule 18.2a).

If my tee shot is out of bounds, can I re-tee the ball?

Yes. When you take stroke-and-distance relief from the teeing area, you may re-tee the ball anywhere within the teeing area and play your third shot. You are not required to play from the grass (Rule 6.2b).