A player is permitted to tee up his ball in front of the tee markers defining the forward limits of the teeing ground as follows:

1. If the encroachment is so slight that a complaint about the transgression voiced by another player would constitute an instance of unsportsmanlike conduct considerably more grave than the infraction itself.
2. If the markers have been placed far to the read of the official yardage marker indicating the stated distance to the green and the hole has thus been lengthened improperly.
3. If the markers have been placed so close to the blue tee markers that players who have not elected to engage in championship play are nonetheless compelled to do so without even being able to enjoy approbation that would have accrued to them had they teed up on the back tees voluntarily.
4. If the markers have recently been moved back from a significantly more advanced position and a player is thus being arbitrarily penalized by being denied the opportunity to play the hole from an advantageous tee placement that countless other golfers were permitted to use.
5. If the turf within the area of the designated teeing ground has been so damaged by the taking of divots that in teeing up his ball slightly in front of the markers a player merely rectifies an unfair playing condition, and the tiny real advantage he thereby gains is more than offset by the huge potential disadvantage he would have suffered had he been obliged to tee up on the remaining playable turf well to the rear of the markers.