(1) When Ball Is in Teeing Area.

• A ball is in the teeing area when any part of the ball touches or is above any part of the teeing area.
• The player may stand outside the teeing area in making the stroke at a ball in the teeing area.

(2) Ball May Be Teed or Played from Ground. The ball must be played from either:

• A tee placed in or on the ground, or
• The ground itself.

For purposes of this Rule, the "ground" includes sand or other natural materials put in place to set the tee or ball on.

The player must not make a stroke at a ball on a non-conforming tee or a ball teed in a way not allowed by this Rule.

Penalty for Breach of Rule 6.2b(2):

• Penalty for first breach from single act or related acts: General Penalty.
• Penalty for second breach unrelated to first breach: Disqualification.

(3) Certain Conditions in Teeing Area May Be Improved. Before making a stroke, the player may take these actions in the teeing area to improve the conditions affecting the stroke (See Rule 8.1b(8)):

• Alter the surface of the ground in the teeing area (such as by making an indentation with a club or foot),
• Move, bend or break grass, weeds and other natural objects that are attached or growing in the ground in the teeing area,
• Remove or press down sand and soil in the teeing area, and
• Remove dew, frost and water in the teeing area.

But the player gets the general penalty if they take any other action to improve the conditions affecting the stroke in breach of Rule 8.1a.

(4) Restriction on Moving Tee-Markers When Playing from Teeing Area.

• The location of the tee-markers is set by the Committee to define each teeing area and should remain in that same location for all players who will play from that teeing area.
• If the player improves the conditions affecting the stroke by moving any such tee-marker before playing from the teeing area, they get the general penalty for breach of Rule 8.1a(1).
• If a player finds one or both tee-markers missing, the player should seek help from the Committee. But if the Committee is not available in a reasonable time, the player should use their reasonable judgment (Rule 1.3b(2)) to estimate the location of the teeing area.

In all other situations, the tee-markers are treated as regular movable obstructions that may be removed as allowed in Rule 15.2.

(5) Ball Is Not in Play Until Stroke Is Made. Whether the ball is teed or on the ground, when starting a hole or playing again from the teeing area under a Rule:

• The ball is not in play until the player makes a stroke at it, and
• The ball may be lifted or moved without penalty before the stroke is made.

If a teed ball falls off the tee or is knocked off the tee by the player before the player has made a stroke at it, it may be re-teed anywhere in the teeing area without penalty.

But if the player makes a stroke at that ball while it is falling or after it has fallen off, there is no penalty, the stroke counts and the ball is in play.

(6) When Ball in Play Lies in Teeing Area. If the player's ball in play is in the teeing area after a stroke (such as a teed ball after a stroke that missed the ball) or after taking relief, the player may:

• Lift or move the ball without penalty (See Rule 9.4b, Exception 1), and
• Play that ball or another ball from anywhere in the teeing area from a tee or the ground under (2), including playing the ball as it lies.

Penalty for Playing Ball from a Wrong Place in Breach of Rule 6.2b(6): General Penalty Under Rule 14.7a.

---

Click to view full USGA Explanation