Golf Rules: Can you tee up your ball again if you top it inside the tee box?
We've all been there... but what can you do in this situation?
It's the nightmare scenario that wakes us up in a cold sweat.
Topping your tee shot is probably the most frustrating thing in golf.
You put yourself in a dreadful situation making it nearly impossible to score and you embarrass yourself in front of your golf mates.
How many viral videos have we seen down the years of the dreaded top?
The first tee shot of a golf trip? Yep. It happens all the time.
A video has emerged on the popular Instagram page @golfrules_questions.
But what about if you top your ball and it still remains in the teeing area?
The video shows a woman pegging up a driver and clearly smashing the turf before impact, causing the top.
The ball squirts forward a few inches.
But what happens in this scenario?
It is a stroke... but can the player tee it up inside the box again?
The answer is: it depends.
It depends on whether or not the ball has left the tee box.
It's difficult to judge in this example because you can't see the other tee marker.
The depth of the teeing area is defined by two club-lengths from the front of the tee markers.
The width is defined by the outside of the tee markers.
IF the ball dribbled outside the tee box then the player could take a Stoke-and-Distance penalty and tee it up again, playing their third shot.
It's hard luck if the ball didn't.
Check out the video: