Tournament Golf - Gallery Help

A while ago, I was playing golf with my friend Anthony and he hit his tee shot Tiger right out of bounds.



After several minutes of looking for his ball, he emerged empty-handed. He promptly reached into his bag for a new Pro V1 and dropped it near the area where his ball entered OB.



I asked him, "So, aren't you supposed to go back and hit a ball from the tee?"

"Nah, I'll just drop from here," he said, looking for a yardage marker.

"So you're just going to take a penalty stroke?"

"Nope."

"But you went OB. If you're not going to re-tee, you should at least take a penalty stroke."

"Dude, if we were playing in a tournament, there would be a gallery over here," gesturing in the direction of the OB. "My ball would have hit the gallery and bounced back in bounds."



I was speechless and could only respond with a look of bewilderment. I'll have to remember that one the next time I go OB.