Starting Play Outside the Teeing Ground

[Phil Bridges]

I am curious why the DQ penalty in stroke play for failing to correct starting play from outside the teeing ground was retained. You changed the match play case from possible recall of the stroke to loss of hole, which is consistent with the penalty for playing from a wrong place. Why not make the stroke play penalty the same, two stroke penalty with possible DQ for a serious breach if not corrected?

[DavidHayes]

Phil, our reason for the change to the match play penalty was to remove the 'recalled stroke' aspect of the rules. That change does, coincidentally, align play from outside the teeing ground with play from a wrong place in match play.

If play from outside the teeing ground were treated as a 'wrong place situation' in stroke play I think we would see a large increase of situations similar to Decision 20-7c/2 i.e., "corrections" that should not have been made (and probably score card errors as a result).

Your suggested treatment is certainly a reasonable one.