Internal Out of Bounds
Internal out of bounds is an area sitting within the boundaries of a golf course that is played as out of bounds, usually a neighboring fairway or practice ground marked off by white stakes or white lines.
What is internal out of bounds?
Most golfers picture out of bounds as the edge of the property, the fence or line of stakes where the course ends and someone’s backyard begins. Internal out of bounds turns that idea inward. It is a patch of ground that looks like part of the course, sits surrounded by holes that are perfectly in play, yet counts as out of bounds when a player is on a particular hole. Golfers and rules officials often call it in-course out of bounds, and both names describe the same thing.
The point of it is to keep players off ground the course would rather they avoided. That might be an adjacent fairway with a tempting shortcut, or a practice area where a stray ball could hurt someone. A committee sets it up through a written local rule, and it can apply to a single hole or to several. A strip of land that is out of bounds while a golfer plays the 6th, for example, may be entirely in play when the same golfer stands on the 7th tee.
How internal out of bounds is marked
The markings match those of any boundary. White stakes or a painted white line do the job, and on some older courses a shallow rut cut into the turf serves the same purpose. When stakes define the edge, the boundary runs along the course-side points of the stakes at ground level, according to the R&A and USGA Rules of Golf. When a white line is painted on the ground, the line itself is out of bounds.
Whether a ball is actually out matters down to the inch. Under Rule 18.2, a ball at rest is out of bounds only when all of it lies outside the boundary edge. If any part still touches grass on the course side of the line, the ball stays in bounds, a detail that surprises plenty of players who assume that merely clipping the line is enough to be penalized.
One more point clears up a common worry. A ball that merely flies over an internal out of bounds area and settles back on playable turf carries no penalty at all. Golf Digest has noted that a committee cannot use this local rule to punish a ball that simply passes over the zone. The ball has to come to rest inside the marked area for the penalty to apply.
Why golf courses use internal out of bounds
Safety drives many of these boundaries. When a direct line to the green sends balls flying toward players on another hole, or toward people on a driving range, a course can shut off that line by declaring it out of bounds. At the 2017 Open at Royal Birkdale, officials brought in a local rule during the week to stop competitors firing from the 9th onto the 10th fairway, with spectator safety the main concern.
Design is the second reason. A course may want players to tackle a hole the way its architect intended rather than cutting the corner of a dogleg. That was the thinking behind the internal out of bounds on the 7th fairway at Oak Hill during the 2023 PGA Championship, which forced players on the 6th to take on the hole head-on. The PGA Tour used the same tool at the 2024 Tour Championship at East Lake, where the 10th fairway played as out of bounds for anyone on the 18th, and the 7th did the same for the 6th.
History accounts for the rest, and Royal Portrush is the classic case. The famous white stakes flanking the 1st hole trace back to land the club did not originally own. The ground was used for grazing horses and fenced off when The Open first visited in 1951, and although the club bought the land in the late 1970s, it kept playing those margins as out of bounds. Rory McIlroy found the left boundary off the 1st tee in the opening round of the 2019 Open there, ran up a quadruple-bogey eight on his way to a 79, and missed the cut by a single shot.
What’s the penalty for internal out of bounds?
The penalty is exactly the same as for any out of bounds, and it is the harshest in golf: stroke and distance. Under Rule 18.2, a player adds one penalty stroke and plays again from the spot of the previous shot. Drive into internal out of bounds off the tee and the next ball is the third stroke, played from the tee. There is no free drop and no nearest-point relief, whatever some sources claim.
This is where a provisional ball earns its keep. If there is any doubt about whether a ball has strayed the wrong side of the line, Rule 18.3 lets a player hit a provisional from the same spot before walking forward to check. Playing one saves the long trudge back if the original does turn out to be out of bounds.
Internal out of bounds vs a penalty area
Plenty of newer golfers mix up the white stakes of internal out of bounds with the red or yellow stakes of a penalty area. They are not the same, and the difference decides how a player scores the next shot. The table below lays it out.
| Internal out of bounds (white) | Penalty area (red / yellow) | |
|---|---|---|
| Marking | White stakes or a white line | Red or yellow stakes or lines |
| Stake status | Boundary object, cannot be moved | Movable obstruction, can be moved |
| Play it as it lies? | No, the ball is out of play | Yes, if it is reachable and playable |
| Penalty | One stroke, stroke and distance | One stroke for relief, or none if played as it lies |
| Relief options | Stroke and distance only (replay from the previous spot) | Stroke and distance, back-on-line, or a lateral drop for red |
| Where you play from | Back at the previous spot | Usually near where the ball came to rest |
The short version: white means the ball is dead and the player goes back. Red or yellow means the ball is in trouble, but the player usually has options close to where it finished. Confusing the two can cost strokes or lead to a wrong score on the card.
Related Golf Terms
- Forced carry — A required shot over a hazard or rough to reach safe ground.
- Tier — A distinct level on a multi-level green.
- Burn — A small stream that acts as a hazard, especially on links.
- Cape hole — A hole that bends around water, tempting an aggressive line.
- Landing area — The target zone in the fairway where a tee shot is meant to finish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is internal out of bounds the same as regular out of bounds?
The penalty and the marking are identical. The only difference is location. Regular out of bounds sits at the edge of the property, while internal out of bounds sits inside the course, often around a neighboring hole or a practice ground.
Can you move a white internal out of bounds stake?
No. White stakes are boundary objects, and players are not allowed to move them to improve a shot, even when the stake is easy to pull out of the ground.
Why would a course make part of itself out of bounds?
Usually for safety, to stop balls flying toward other players, or to make golfers play a hole as designed instead of cutting a corner. Some boundaries also survive for historical reasons tied to old land ownership.
Does internal out of bounds apply all the time?
Not always. A local rule can limit it to specific holes, so the same strip of ground may be out of bounds while playing one hole and fully in play on another. The scorecard or local rules sheet spells out when it applies.
Sources
- R&A. “Rule 18: Stroke-and-Distance Relief; Ball Lost or Out of Bounds; Provisional Ball.” Rules of Golf. Accessed August 2026.
https://www.randa.org/en/rog/the-rules-of-golf/rule-18 - USGA. “Committee Procedures, Model Local Rule A-4 (Rule 8).” Rules of Golf. Accessed August 2026.
https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules/rules-2019/committee-procedures/rule-8.html - Golf Monthly. “What Is Internal Out Of Bounds?” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.golfmonthly.com/golf-rules/what-is-internal-out-of-bounds - Golf Digest. “Rules of Golf review: What the heck is internal out of bounds?” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/rules-of-golf-review-what-the-heck-is-internal-out-of-bounds - Golf News Net. “What is internal out of bounds on a golf course? What is the penalty for hitting into it?” Accessed August 2026.
https://thegolfnewsnet.com/ryan_ballengee/2024/08/28/what-is-internal-out-of-bounds-on-a-golf-course-what-is-the-penalty-for-hitting-into-it-129287/ - National Club Golfer. “Are the players unhappy with internal out of bounds at The Open?” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.nationalclubgolfer.com/rules/royal-portrush-internal-out-of-bounds-removal/ - EssentiallySports. “What Does Internal Out of Bounds Mean in Golf?” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.essentiallysports.com/golf-news-what-does-internal-out-of-bounds-mean-in-golf/
