What happens if your ball is out of bounds?

The situation

Your ball lands beyond the white stakes or white line that marks the boundary of the course. It's out of bounds.

The rule

Out of bounds (OB) is defined by white stakes or white lines. Under Rule 18.2, a ball is OB 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 for OB is stroke-and-distance: add 1 stroke and play again from where the previous stroke was made. There is no "drop near the boundary" option under the standard rules — you go all the way back.

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 from the same spot before going forward
• 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).