Teeing Off, Wrong Balls and Order of Play (Rule 6): What the Rules of Golf Say
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How we wrote this: A plain-English summary of Rule 6 of the Rules of Golf as published by The R&A, checked October 29, 2026. Read the official text for every exception.
Start inside the teeing area (Rule 6.1b)
Each hole starts with a ball played from anywhere inside the teeing area. A ball is in the teeing area when any part of it touches or is above the teeing area. You may stand outside it to hit.
Playing from outside it (including from the wrong set of tee markers):
- Match play: no penalty, but your opponent may cancel the stroke promptly, and you replay from inside the teeing area.
- Stroke play: two penalty strokes, and you must replay from inside. The stroke from outside doesn't count. Failing to correct it before teeing off on the next hole (or returning your card on the last) means disqualification.
Teeing area rules (Rule 6.2b)
- Play the ball from a tee in the ground, or from the ground (sand or other natural material used to set the tee counts as ground).
- In the teeing area you may press down or remove sand and soil, move or break grass and weeds, make an indentation, and remove dew, frost and water (see course as found).
- Don't move the tee markers to improve your stroke. That's the general penalty.
- A teed ball isn't in play until you make a stroke at it. If it falls or you knock it off the tee before swinging, re-tee it without penalty. If you swing at it while it's falling or after it has fallen, the stroke counts.
Hole out with the same ball (Rule 6.3)
You can change balls between holes, but you must finish a hole with the ball you teed off with unless it's lost or out of bounds or you substitute another ball. Substitution is allowed when taking relief or replaying from where you last hit, but generally not when replacing a ball on its spot. The R&A suggests putting an identifying mark on your ball. Hitting an incorrectly substituted ball costs one penalty stroke.
Wrong ball (Rule 6.3c)
| Format | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Match play | Loss of hole (if players swap balls, the first to hit a wrong ball loses the hole) |
| Stroke play | Two penalty strokes. Strokes with the wrong ball don't count, and you must go back to your own ball |
There's no penalty for hitting a wrong ball that is moving in water in a penalty area or temporary water. In stroke play, not correcting the mistake before the next tee means disqualification.
Order of play (Rule 6.4)
- Honour: at the first hole it's set by the draw, agreement or a coin toss. In stroke play, the lowest gross score on a hole tees off first on the next. In match play, the winner of the hole has the honour.
- After teeing off, the ball farthest from the hole goes first.
- Match play: your opponent may cancel a stroke you play out of turn.
- Stroke play: no penalty for playing out of turn. The R&A encourages "ready golf" when it's safe. The exception: players who agree to play out of turn to give one of them an advantage each get two penalty strokes.
Related: lost ball and provisional ball, the 14-club limit, dropping a ball.