Would you ever call a penalty on someone for teeing in front of the markers?
Golf is a game of inches. But is it a game of inches before you even swing? Technically, of course! When push comes to shove … maybe?
This debate centers on teeing off and whether it’s worth calling someone out for teeing it up in front of the markers. It’s something we’ve all noticed from our playing partners and rarely (potentially never) call out. When money or pride's on the line, it all gets a bit dicier.
As always, we asked a panel of golf obsessives to see if they would go full golf purist if their fellow golfer kept pushing the ball a little closer to the hole than allowed. And, of course, the Golf Digest Illuminati had a lot to say.
Christopher Powers, Staff Writer: The only time I'd even consider such traffic cop behavior is if I genuinely hated the person. And I rarely, if ever, find myself playing with people I genuinely hate. Now, if it's in a competition with someone I'm playing against (and don't despise), I could maybe see myself mentioning to them that they should back up a step, just to protect the field. Casual round with a few bucks on the line? So long as they aren't deliberately teeing it up five-to-10 yards closer to the hole, who the hell cares?
E. Michael Johnson, Equipment Editor: Well, I have two answers. In match play, there is no penalty and they're just playing against me and though entitled to make them re-tee, I'm not going to be that petty, even if they stick it to a foot on a par 3. Stroke play is different. I'm obligated to protect the field and don't get to choose which rules we play by, so sorry, pal, add 2 and re-tee. That said, if you're aware someone is ahead of the markers, wouldn't you let them know before they hit? To not do so you can then call it on them seems the greater offense.
Jay Coffin, Contributing Editor: I don’t think I would. If I noticed it before they hit the ball, of course, I would tell them. If I didn’t notice it then, and noticed it after, calling a penalty would feel vindictive. The same in return. Now, if one of my playing partners noticed I was teeing off beyond the marker and didn’t say anything, but called a penalty after I hit, I would go ballistic.
Dave Shedloski, Contributing Editor: Depends. If I notice it, I would stop him before he committed the infraction. If I didn't notice it before he struck his tee shot, I would point out what he had done and let it go at that and leave it to him to assess the penalty on himself. Now, if we are playing a match, then all bets are off, and I am taking advantage of his error and calling it out.
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Greg Gottfried, Web Producer: This is one situation (maybe the only one) on the course where I’d be pretty chill about the whole thing. If I noticed that it KEPT on happening, maybe I’d point it out. But other than that, I don’t think it’s worth making a whole stink over. Potentially, during a match, I’d care a little bit more, but it’s so minuscule that it wouldn’t really change the final results. I’ve definitely done it myself while not paying attention or just chatting in between holes, so I can’t blame someone if it happens here or there. Many things can upset me over 18 holes. This is somehow not one of them.
Shane Ryan, Contributing Editor: Playing casual golf, it would be hilariously uptight to call a penalty on someone for teeing off in front of the marker, and I would never do this. What would that even mean? But I think the question is more about competitive play, and the answer to that is also "no." It's hard to know what I'd actually do when competing against a stranger, because being six inches in front of the tee marker confers absolutely no advantage. The absolute most I'd do, if it happened more than once, is say something like, "Hey, it's not a big deal, but just so you know, you teed off a little ahead of the markers there, just letting you know in case you ever play a real stickler." And then let them adjust. If it happened once only and seemed like an anomaly, I'd say nothing.
Side note, I actually have a personal story about this, I was playing a match very early in my golf career, had come back from three holes down to take a lead heading into the 18th, a par-5, and a pro who was watching our match told me just before I hit my drive that I was ahead of the marker by a few inches. I re-teed, was totally rattled, hit OB, lost the hole, and lost the match on the first playoff hole. I'm not saying the pro was wrong, but I do think he should be arrested.
Keely Levins, Contributing Writer: I remember in a junior tournament, I saw a girl tee up in front of the markers, and I said, “Hey, I think you’re in front of the markers.” And she didn’t move. And then her dad started yelling it at her, Move the ball back! She was so in the zone that she didn’t hear him either, and she hit it. I had to call the penalty on her. Which did not feel great.
If I’m playing in something of some consequence, like a club championship, a USGA qualifier or a state amateur, I’ll say something to a player before they hit their tee ball. If they do it again after that ‘warning’, I’ll let them know they’ve done it after they’ve hit. Because clearly now we’re seeing a trend.
Playing in anything else, I’m not going to say anything. There have been times when I probably should’ve said something, but an honest mistake of an inch or two just isn’t worth what’s basically guaranteed to be a tense interaction.
Sam Weinman, Digital Editorial Director: The short answer is no, I couldn’t see myself doing this because it’s incredibly petty and wouldn’t even provide you a meaningful advantage. The lone potential exception would be a variation of all the “He started it!” arguments we’d revert to as kids. Imagine we’re playing, and you’ve suddenly decided you’re Slugger White. You question if my drops are slightly above my knees, or if I’m using a different kind of ball than I started with, or some other archaic rule that has no bearing on my actual ability to get the ball in the hole. You want to do petty? I CAN DO PETTY. Not only did you tee off in front of the markers back there, you were 30 seconds late to the first tee, and I’m sorry to say you’ve already been DQed.
