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Teeing ground

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Teeing area)

Teeing ground
Ronald Reagan playing golf from a teeing area, with red and white tee markers visible
Other namesTee, tee box
Characteristics
TypeGolf
EquipmentGolf tee, Golf ball, Golf clubs
VenueGolf course
GlossaryGlossary of golf
Presence
Country or regionWorldwide

The teeing area (also # tee or tee box, teeing ground ) is the area where play begins in a hole of golf.

The teeing area is a rectangle two golf club lengths deep.[1][2] Its front edge is defined by invisible line between the forward-most points of two tee markers.[3] Golf courses often provide several sets of tee markers.

Terminology

[edit]

The R&A (spun off from The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews in 2004) and the United States Golf Association (USGA) both call it a Teeing Area.[4][5]

The 1888 rules of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews referred to the starting place as the "teeing-ground".[6] The term was associated with the Scottish word ''tigh'', meaning "home" and is pronounced tee.[7]

History

[edit]

Eighteenth century

[edit]

The first known written rules of golf are the Thirteen Articles, they were drafted in 1744 by the Gentlemen Golfers of Leith [de] for the first Challenge for the Silver Club at Leith Links in Edinburgh, Scotland.[8] John Rattray won, and his signature appears at the end of the Articles, preserved in the minute book of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers.[9] Successive ways of teeing was used by Bruntsfield Links (1773[10]), Company of Golfers (1809[11]) St Andrews Links (1777), Crail (1786), Perth (1825) and others variously defined the teeing ground.[12]

The Articles required the ball to be teed within one club's length of the hole and that the tee be on the ground.[13] Early teeing areas were therefore located near the previous hole.[14] Early golfers used a small teeing area around the previous hole, about one club-length across.[15] By 1875, they had expanded to between eight and twelve club lengths, and the 1888 rules described to what it still used today.[7]

Nineteenth century

[edit]

By the 1890s, some American courses had constructed teeing areas that were level boxes made of wood, stone, or cement, and filled with sand, soil, dirt, bitumen, or cement, and sometimes covered with coir.[7] Grass teeing areas were also used and later became common on championship and country club.

Layout and boundaries

[edit]

The teeing area is where a hole begins.[1] The player starts the hole by playing the golf ball from the teeing area for the given hole.[16][17]

The ball may be placed on a golf tee or directly on the ground.[4] A player may stand outside the teeing area when making a stroke, as long as the ball is within it.[18][19][20] Playing the ball from outside the teeing area results in a penalty; the type of penalty depends on the format of play.[21][22]

Teeing area markers

[edit]
Green teeing area markers on the County Sligo Golf Club, Rosses Point, Ireland.

Tee markers are often distinguished by color, but the colors are not standardized.[23][24] White and blue have traditionally been used with tees farther from the hole, while red has commonly indicated forward tees.[25] Yellow or gold and sometimes green has also been used for intermediate tees.[26][27]

Color Common or traditional association
Blue Longer or back tees
White Longer or back tees
Yellow or gold Intermediate tees
Red Forward tees
Green Varies by course
White marker.

Forward tees were historically sometimes called ladies' tees.[28] This terminology has increasingly been replaced by terms based on distance or tee position.[29] Chmpionship/Back/Tip Tees and "Tiger" tees are sometimes used for furthest tees on the course.[30]

Construction and maintenance

[edit]

The different types oft teeing area could be turf mats, grass, dirt, among others. When hitting the ball, damage often occurs on the teeing area, known as divots. Divots can be repaired using sand, soil, seed, or fertilizer.[31][27]

Tee markers are also moved periodically by course-maintenance staff. Thus, the length of each hole can vary from day to day.[32][33]

Course ratings and handicaps

[edit]
A 1920s comic strip by Tad Dorgan depicting golfers discussing handicap assignments.

The choice of teeing area is generally left to the player or determined by the course. Different sets of tees may have separate Course Rating and Slope Rating values.[34] These values are used in the World Handicap System.[23]

The Course Rating represents the expected score of a scratch golfer. The Slope Rating is the relative difficulty of the course for a bogey golfer compared with a scratch golfer.[35] Because different tee locations produce different effective playing lengths, each set of tees can have its own Course Rating and Slope Rating.[36]

Golf tee

[edit]
Oversized golf tee sculptures by Hubert Privé [fr] for the Ryder Cup.
An angry golfer using a mound of sand to tee a golf ball, depicted on the 1903 cover of Puck

A golf tee is a small peg used to raise the golf ball above the ground for the first stroke of a hole. Under the Rules of Golf, a golf ball can only be teed only when beginning a hole. Tees are commonly made of wood or plastic and are available in various lengths. A standard tee is 2+1⁄8 inches (5.4 cm) The tee itself had never been defined until 2004.

Under the R&A and USGA Rules of Golf, a tee must be no longer than 4 inches (101.6 mm) and must not be designed to indicate the line of play or influence the movement of the golf ball.

History

[edit]

The 1908 rules stated that the ball may be placed on the ground or small mounds of sand.[7] Sand was provided in boxes at some courses and could be mixed with water and shaped into a mound before each shot.[37]

Early manufactured tees appeared during the late 19th century. William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas patented a tee in 1889, followed by Percy Ellis's "Perfectum" in 1892.[38]

On December 12, 1899, Harvard University professor, George Franklin Grant, received U.S. Patent No. 638,920, the first patent for a wooden golf tee.[39] Grant's tee was not widely adopted because he did not market it.[37]

On May 5, 1922, William Lowell, Sr. filed a patent application for the "Reddy Tee", which was granted patent No. 1,493,687 on May 13, 1924.[40] Lowell promoted the tee through professional golfers including Walter Hagen and Joe Kirkwood, Sr.[41] The Reddy Tee later fell out of use, and Lowell lost his patent after a legal dispute. Since 1976, about 288 patents with “golf tee” in the title have been granted.[40]

In 1980 it was allowed to be placed on an irregularity of surface, and eventually in 1984 ‘on a tee’.

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 Ellwood, Jeremy (November 9, 2022). "Rules of Golf: The Teeing Area". Golf Monthly. Archived from the original on June 26, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  2. ↑ "The Original 13 Rules of Golf". Professional Golfers Career College. Archived from the original on January 16, 2026. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Teeing ground". "Rules of Golf", United States Golf Association. Archived from the original on April 4, 2005. Retrieved April 5, 2005.
  4. 1 2 "Starting the Hole (Teeing Area)". United States Golf Association. Archived from the original on May 18, 2026. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  5. ↑ "What Are the Areas of the Course and How Are They Defined". United States Golf Association. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Rushmore Golf Course". Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford. May 2012. Archived from the original on August 8, 2025. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 fore (March 4, 2021). "Golf Terms: The Tee Box". Golf Historical Society. Archived from the original on September 27, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  8. ↑ Bisset, Fergus (December 22, 2020). "What Is The Oldest Golf Club In The World?". Golf Monthly. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Rules of Golf - 1744 - Scottish Golf History". www.scottishgolfhistory.org. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  10. ↑ "1773 Rules of Golf". www.ruleshistory.com. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
  11. ↑ Lockyer, Norman; Rutherford, William (1896) [1809]. Written at New York; London. The rules of golf; being the St. Andrews rules for the game (PDF). New York: Macmillan & Co. p. 72. OCLC 1084508951. rulesofgolfbeing00lock (PDF). Retrieved October 6, 2026. {{cite book}}: |archive-format= requires |archive-url= (help)
  12. ↑ "The History and Evolution of Hitting Distances and Golf Course Lengths Before 1980" (PDF): 14. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. ↑ USGA (March 1, 2017). "A Brief History of Revisions to the Rules of Golf: 1744 to Present". United States Golf Association. Archived from the original on May 11, 2026. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Early moments in Scottish golf". National Library of Scotland. Archived from the original on February 15, 2026. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  15. ↑ Wallace, Jamie (July 5, 2017). "Rules Throwback: The Game's First Documented Rules". United States Golf Association. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Rule 6: Playing a Hole". The R&A. Archived from the original on May 19, 2026. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Evolution of the rules". Golf Canada. May 25, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Rules of Golf". United States Golf Association. Archived from the original on January 5, 2025. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  19. ↑ "When ball is in teeing area". The R&A. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  20. ↑ Guy, Rules (August 23, 2023). "Rules Guy: After moving back 2 club-lengths, my tee shot was aligned with the tee behind mine. Is that a penalty?". Golf Magazine. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  21. ↑ Kaspriske, Ron (March 21, 2024). "Rules of Golf Review: I'm hitting a 6-iron on a par 3. Can I use my driver to measure the teeing area?". Golf Digest. Archived from the original on January 24, 2026. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  22. ↑ Guy, Rules (April 19, 2022). "Rules Guy: Can you still post your score if you play a hole from a different set of tees?". Golf Magazine. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  23. 1 2 "Handicapping". BBC Sport. September 16, 2005. Archived from the original on February 21, 2025. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  24. ↑ Bissett, Fergus (March 31, 2022). "What Are Gender Neutral Tees? The traditional notion of men's and ladies' tees is being phased out. Teeing options increasingly reflect playing requirements and ability rather than gender". Golf Monthly. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  25. ↑ Weinman, Sam (June 21, 2024). "How playing forward tees makes you better". Golf Digest. Archived from the original on March 7, 2026. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  26. ↑ Bushell, John; Healy, Erica; Zeila, Vikki (August 2021). "USGA GOLFER EXPERIENCE RESEARCH" (PDF). United States Golf Association. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  27. 1 2 USGA Green Section (January 18, 2018). "Tee Marker Rotation — A Balancing Act". United States Golf Association. Archived from the original on June 18, 2026. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  28. ↑ Hibbitt, James (December 11, 2021). "Golf Courses Abandon Gendered Tee Markers". Golf Monthly. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  29. ↑ Jacob, Paul (February 2, 2020). "Rethinking Forward Tees". United States Golf Association. Archived from the original on May 19, 2026. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  30. ↑ "What Are the Tiger Tees On a Golf Course?". www.golfcompendium.com/. Archived from the original on May 16, 2026. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  31. ↑ Dowling, Elliott (September 3, 2021). "Making Tees a Priority". United States Golf Association. Archived from the original on April 21, 2026. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  32. ↑ Isom, Cory (September 3, 2021). "The Dirt on Divot Mix". United States Golf Association. Archived from the original on June 10, 2026. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  33. ↑ Nicoludis, Zach (March 1, 2024). "Get Creative With Tee Marker Placement". United States Golf Association. Archived from the original on April 19, 2026. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  34. ↑ Benjamin, Terry (October 23, 2024). "Course Rating vs. Slope Rating". United States Golf Association. Archived from the original on June 10, 2026. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  35. ↑ Levins, Keely (November 10, 2025). "What Exactly are Course Rating and Slope Rating?". United States Golf Association. Archived from the original on April 21, 2026. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  36. ↑ Pierce, David (September 2, 2022). "Tee Options on Golf Courses: Supply, Demand and Opportunities". United States Golf Association. Archived from the original on March 7, 2026. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  37. 1 2 Garabed, Kylie (July 3, 2018). "Dr. George Grant and Evolution of the Golf Tee". United States Golf Association. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  38. ↑ Valenta, Irwin R. The Singular History of the Golf Tee, Greensboro, North Carolina, 1995. Summary at Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine
  39. ↑ Denny, Heather (July 10, 2023). "George Grant takes his place in history". Harvard Gazette. Archived from the original on May 11, 2026. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  40. 1 2 Associated Press. "Dentist Commercialized the Wooden Golf Tee". NBC Sports. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  41. ↑ Hyman, Vicki (July 31, 2010). "A look at the man who invented modern golf tees". July 31, 2010. The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on December 27, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
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