Explaining Golf's Teeing Ground, Plus Its Rules and Etiquette

A "teeing ground" on a golf course is that area from which you play your first stroke on each hole: It's where every hole starts. It is, in other words, the area from which you "tee off."

"Teeing ground" was a term that was used in the Rules of Golf through the end of 2018. Beginning with the 2019 edition of the rule book, that term has been deprecated in favor of "teeing area."

Golf courses typically offer multiple teeing areas on each hole, designated by different colors of tee markers (the blue tees, white tees, red tees and so on). You play from the same teeing ground on each successive hole; that is, if you begin from the area designated by, say, blue tee markers, you continue playing the "blue tees" on every hole.

You must play your first stroke on each hole:

• from in-between the tee markers that designate the teeing ground;
• never from in front of the tee markers;
• but anywhere up to two club-lengths behind the tee markers.

The areas where several sets of tees are grouped together are called "tee boxes." So tee boxes are groups of teeing grounds. "Tee box" is an informal term, a colloquialism; "teeing ground" is a term used in the rules.

Definition of 'Teeing Ground' in the Rules of Golf

The official definition of "teeing ground," as written by the USGA and R&A and as it appeared in the Rules of Golf through the end of 2018, is this:

"The 'teeing ground' is the starting place for the hole to be played. It is a rectangular area two club-lengths in depth, the front and the sides of which are defined by the outside limits of two tee-markers. A ball is outside the teeing ground when all of it lies outside the teeing ground."

As noted, "teeing ground" is now deprecated and the term used by the governing bodies is "teeing area." The definition of teeing area that appears in the rule book now in place is this:

"The area the player must play from in starting the hole he or she is playing. The teeing area is a rectangle that is two club-lengths deep where:
*The front edge is defined by the line between the forward-most points of two tee-markers set by the Committee, and
*The side edges are defined by the lines back from the outside points of the tee-markers."

Dimensions of the Teeing Area

• Width: There are no limits within the rules on how wide the teeing ground can be. How far apart the tee markers are placed is determined by golf course staff and based on the design of each golf hole's starting point.
• Depth: The teeing ground extends from an imaginary straight line connecting the fronts of the tee markers backward two club-lengths. What's a "club length?" It's the length of the longest club in your golf bag, not including your putter, which will typically be your driver. If your driver is, for example, 46 inches long, then the teeing ground, for you, extends 92 inches back from the tee markers.

Teeing Areas in the Rule Book

In the rule book, Rule 6 is titled "Playing a Hole," and that rule goes over how to start each hole on the course: rules relating to using the teeing area, in other words. So be sure to read that rule for the in-depth picture.

Golf Etiquette on the Teeing Ground

• Order of play on the teeing ground is based on "honors," which means golfers tee off in the order of the best scoring on the previous hole. The golfer with the lowest score tees off first on the next hole, and so on. (Choose randomly on the first tee.)
• Before playing from the teeing ground, make sure any golfers playing ahead of your group are out of range. And be very careful when taking practice swings and playing strokes that none of your fellow-competitors or opponents are close enough that you might hit them.
• Likewise, make sure when others are hitting their tee shots you are safely apart from them.
• Don't stand directly behind a golfer's line of play when they are teeing off; stand off to the side, remaining quiet and still during other golfers' play.

And don't tee up your ball on the teeing ground until it's actually your turn to play.