Daily HolesPenalty · from 28 October 2026 · most par 4s and 5s
Out of Bounds: White Stakes and Stroke and Distance in Daily Holes
White stakes down one side of most par 4s and 5s. A ball that comes to rest beyond them costs a stroke and is played again from where it was hit.
By the numbers
- How often
- from 28 October 2026, most par 4s and longer
- Where
- one side, just past the rough
- Marked by
- a dashed white line, stakes and grey ground
- Counts
- where the ball comes to rest
- Penalty
- one stroke, replayed from the same spot
- Never
- across the fairway or any feature
What it is
From 28 October 2026 most par 4s, 5s and 6s have out of bounds down one side: a dashed white line with stakes, and the ground beyond it shaded grey. It runs just past the rough, never across the fairway, a bunker, a cart path or any other feature you are meant to reach. Short holes and the island crossing have none.
What it costs
Only where the ball stops counts. If it comes to rest beyond the line, you add one penalty stroke and play again from where you hit: stroke and distance, as in the real game. A ball that bounces or rolls back inside the line is fine.
Why it matters
The line sits on one side only, so the hole is lopsided: a miss away from the stakes ends in rough, a miss towards them can cost two shots. Long clubs spread the most and roll the furthest, and an overswing adds a big push one way or the other.
How to play it
Look for the white line before you lock the angle, and aim a little away from it, towards the side without stakes. Off the tee take a club whose spread you trust rather than the longest one, and avoid overswinging. The shot plan warns of risk when a likely miss would finish out of bounds.
Worked example
A par 5 with stakes down the right. A pure driver aimed at the centre is safe; an overswing pushed 6 degrees right finishes beyond the line, so you are back on the tee hitting three. A 3-wood aimed at the left half of the fairway gives up 20 yards but keeps both misses in bounds.
Common mistakes
Aiming straight down the middle on a hole with stakes on one side, instead of favouring the safe side. Overswinging for distance with the line close. And forgetting that only the resting place counts: a ball that crosses the line in the air and rolls back is still in play.