THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS...

"Uncharacteristically, Larry whiffed his tee shot on the fist hole. I figured, oh heck, this could turn out to be an unpleasant round. To make matters worse, before playing his next stroke, Larry pressed down some turf behind the ball. At this point Scott said, wow, I can't believe you forgot that the whiff made your ball in play. You were lying 1, hitting two. But improving your lie is going to cost you two more strokes meaning you will be lying 3 hitting 4. I was right, you can't be playing golf with an overly serious high blood pressure duffer and be on the first tee box telling him he is hitting four and expect a care free round. Of course Larry protested and said he was still on the tee box, and he should be allowed to pat down the turf. Scott of course re-reminded Larry that the ball was in play and was no longer a ""tee shot."" What is the correct ruling?"