Thursday, August 3, 2017

Ask Linda #1587-When is the ball out of bounds?

Linda,
Could you clarify that if the ball is on the OB line and some of the ball is "in bounds" that the ball IS NOT OB, just the opposite of the water hazard line?
Is this correct?
Thank you for all of your easy to understand answers.  You have made it so much easier to understand the rules!
Lulu from Abington, Massachusetts

Dear Lulu,

Yes. Your understanding is correct.

A ball is out of bounds when all of it lies out of bounds [Definition of “Out of Bounds]. If any part of the ball touches in bounds, or any of it breaks the out-of-bounds plane (meaning part of the ball is over the line, even if it does not touch the course), it is not out of bounds.

The reverse is true for water hazards. If any part of the ball touches the hazard, the ball is in the hazard [Definition of “Water Hazard”]. If the margin of the hazard is defined by a line, and the ball touches the line, the ball is in the hazard.

Linda
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