What happens if I have to replay my shot from the tee?

Yes, you play again from anywhere inside the teeing area and you may tee the ball up. Rule 14.6a says when your previous stroke was from the teeing area and you must replay it, you simply play a ball from the teeing area under Rule 6.2b — original ball or another ball, no penalty for the relief itself.

How it works on the tee

When a Rule tells you to play again from where your last stroke was made — like stroke-and-distance relief, a cancelled stroke, or a stroke that doesn't count — and that last stroke was from the teeing area, you go back to the tee. You can drop or place a ball anywhere inside the teeing area, and you're allowed to tee it up. You can use the original ball or a different one. The teeing area rules (Rule 6.2b) apply in full: you can move the ball, re-tee it, or even change balls before you make the stroke.

What counts as the teeing area

The teeing area is a rectangle two club-lengths deep whose front edge is defined by the tee-markers. The side edges are the outside limits of the tee-markers. You can stand outside the teeing area to play a ball that's inside it. If your ball is inside that rectangle, it's in the teeing area — even if it's on a tuft of grass, a divot, or a tee peg left by someone else.

Wrong place penalty

If you play from outside the teeing area when Rule 14.6a requires you to play from inside it, you get the general penalty: two strokes in stroke play, loss of hole in match play. In stroke play you must correct the mistake by playing again from inside the teeing area before you make a stroke from the next teeing area (or before you return your scorecard on the final hole). If you don't correct it, you're disqualified.

Exceptions that change the answer

• You and your opponent agree to play out of turn to save time → The player who plays out of turn gives up the right to cancel that stroke. This applies in match play (Rule 6.4a) and stroke play (Rule 6.4b) when you're replaying from the tee.

Frequently asked questions

Can I re-tee the ball when I replay from the tee?

Yes. Rule 14.6a explicitly says the ball may be teed, and Rule 6.2b lets you tee it anywhere in the teeing area. You can even use a different tee height or a different tee peg.

Do I have to use the same ball I hit originally?

No. You may use the original ball or another ball. Rule 14.6 says this applies in all situations where you play again from where the previous stroke was made.

What if I don't know exactly where my last tee shot was played from?

On the teeing area it doesn't matter — you just play from anywhere inside the teeing area. The estimation requirement in Rule 14.6b and 14.6c only applies when the previous stroke was from the general area, penalty area, bunker, or putting green.

Is there a penalty for taking stroke-and-distance relief from the tee?

The relief procedure itself has no penalty — you just play again from the tee. But the reason you're taking stroke-and-distance (like a lost ball or ball out of bounds) carries its own penalty of one stroke. So you're playing your third stroke from the tee (tee shot + penalty stroke + next stroke).

What happens if I play from outside the teeing area by mistake?

You get the general penalty (two strokes in stroke play, loss of hole in match play). In stroke play you must correct it by playing again from inside the teeing area before you tee off on the next hole, or you're disqualified.