Lost Ball Rule

[JBK]

The one rule that I've always found to be not very practical is the lost ball rule.

As an example, let's just say that I hit my tee shot and feel like I know where it went. When I get there, for some reason, I just cannot find it. And because I thought I knew where it was, I didn't play a provisional ball. The course is busy and there may even be someone waiting to tee off. What do you do? It's just not practical to turn around and go back to the tee.

I've always been a stickler for the rules. Most people that I've played with, just take a drop near where they think they lost the ball and take a one penalty stroke. This is of course not playing by the rules and that's why I take with a grain of salt the scores of the people I talk to about golf.

So what do you do?

[Fat Slice]

I'm pretty liberal with the provisionals. I also tend to play the same courses, so I know when a ball might be lost or not. The less I know the course, the more likely I am to put out a 2nd ball just in case.

[msd3075]

I think the rule is written with the intent to prevent someone from trying to claim their ball should be in a certain area knowing full and well that it isn't. It takes the "guess work" out and makes it to where you are only playing a ball that you can locate. I understand it can be a hassle in certain situations to hike back to the tee box, but the rule prevents much more harm than is causes.

[DaveLeeNC]

I play in mostly low-key team-type competitions. So in those circumstances I am mostly interested in two things.

1) Putting an honest score "on the card" if it is a score that counts as part of the team score (where 2BB of 4 with h-cap adjustment would be typical).

2) Posting an honest handicap adjusted score in our posting computer.

So if there are folks waiting on the tee (and in particular if there is 'room in front of us') I'm probably not headed back to the tee unless #1 (above) is an issue. #2 would be handed via Section #4 of the USGA handicap manual (basically record the score that I would have most likely achieved had you actually gone back to the tee per the ROG).

And for those who would observe that I did not generate a real golf score for those rounds where I didn't go back to the tee, I can only say that "you are quite correct about that".

dave

ps. This has certainly happened to me more than once, but it is a pretty rare occurence in my case.

[mad max]

If it not feasible to go back to the tee I drop where I think my ball should be and take 2 penalty strokes. If it was my tee shot that was lost I will be hitting my fourth shot from where I dropped. I know this is not playing by the rules but I think this is fair. If someone hits the ball where it is likely to be lost like in the trees this gives them incentive to hit a provisional because if they don't they will be hitting 4 from the woods.

One other thing I have found that is important is to mark your original ball and your provisional differently and know which one you hit. I have hit a bad tee shot and than hit a provisional in the same area and I was only able to find one of the balls and I didn't know which ball it was so I was forced to play it like it was my provisional.

[Fat Slice]

One other thing I have found that is important is to mark your original ball and your provisional differently and know which one you hit. I have hit a bad tee shot and than hit a provisional in the same area and I was only able to find one of the balls and I didn't know which ball it was so I was forced to play it like it was my provisional.

This is a good rule to know!

27/11 Provisional Ball Not Distinguishable from Original Ball A player entitled to play a provisional ball from the tee plays it into the same area as his original ball. The balls have identical markings and the player cannot distinguish between them. Following are various situations and the solutions, which are based on equity (Rule 1-4), when the above circumstances exist and one or both of the balls are found within a search of five minutes: Situation 1: One ball is found in a water hazard and the other ball is not found. Solution 1: The ball that was found must be presumed to be the provisional ball. Situation 2: Both balls are found in a water hazard. Solution 2: As the player’s original ball is lost in the water hazard due to his inability to identify it (see analogous Decision 27/10), the player must proceed under Rule 26-1 with respect to the original ball (estimating the spot where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard, if necessary — see Decision 26-1/17); his next stroke would be his third. Situation 3: One ball is found in bounds and the other ball is lost or is found out of bounds. Solution 3: The ball in bounds must be presumed to be the provisional ball. Situation 4: Both balls are found in bounds, whether in a playable or an unplayable lie, and (1) one ball is in a water hazard and the other is not or (2) both balls lie through the green or in a bunker. Solution 4: One could argue that both balls are lost. However, it would be inequitable to require the player to return to the tee, playing 5, when the player has found both balls but does not know which is the original and which the provisional. Accordingly, the player must select one of the balls, treat it as his provisional ball and abandon the other. (Revised)

[Khalua10]

If you are going to drop a ball where it went OB the shot after your drop should be your 4th shot because thats how it would be if you had went back and re-teed, you would be laying 3 after the re-teed ball. Thats how I do it anyway.

[flopdarock]

ive seen guys come back to the teebox and hit another ball... my playing partners werent too happy about it cuz the guys in front of us had a horrible pace of play...
if its a casual round with no money involved and the course is busy... taking a drop isnt the worst thing...
if the pace of play isnt too bad... go back to the teebox and hit another one...
but you shoulda hit a provisional that you could have picked up if you found the first ball

[Fourputt]

ive seen guys come back to the teebox and hit another ball... my playing partners werent too happy about it cuz the guys in front of us had a horrible pace of play...

The drop with 2 penalty strokes is the fairest workaround if you aren't going to follow the rule to the letter.

[mad max]

This is a good rule to know!

So I played correctly, making this mistake once means you shouldn't make this mistake again.

[msd3075]

The drop with 2 penalty strokes is the fairest workaround if you aren't going to follow the rule to the letter.

It might be fair given the specific situation, but the absolute best way to resolve any of this is to ALWAYS hit a provisional if there is ANY question of possibly losing your ball. It doesn't slow down play outside of the additional 30 seconds it takes to hit the ball and the 30 seconds to walk over and pick it up if you find you original. It also prevents you from possibly penalizing yourself an extra stroke by dropping where your first shot might be and "assuming" you hit your provisional in the exact same spot; at least you have another chance with the true provisional not to mess up your tee shot and lay 3 in the fairway instead laying 3 and having to punch out to the fairway.

[zeg]

Yeah, but there will always be the occasional ball lost in the light rough where it's almost impossible to know that you'll need the provisional.

[goblue107501]

Yeah, but there will always be the occasional ball lost in the light rough where it's almost impossible to know that you'll need the provisional.

Exactly. They almost need to amend the rule in some manner for casual play. It is very unrealistic on a crowded muni to go back and re-hit after looking for a few minutes.

If I hit a ball and see it hit short of the fairway bunker and see it bounce to the right, I assume it is in play. There are no hazards or OB on the hole so I have no reason to hit a provisional. When I get up to where my ball should be I just can't find it. It is lost. I know I should go back and re-hit, but with two groups waiting on the box already, that just isn't feasible. A squirrel could have run off with it for all I know. I play it as a one stroke penalty and hit from a reasonable spot where I think it should have ended up.

[DaveLeeNC]

Yeah, but there will always be the occasional ball lost in the light rough where it's almost impossible to know that you'll need the provisional.

I ran into an interesting situation once. I was playing a course that I was not familiar with, but a playing partner knew it well. It was a par 5 where your choices were a 260 yard carry over a lake (that would not be me), thread a needle where there was a 10 yard wide strip of land between the water on the left and a swampy hazard on the right (almost not a choice at all), or lay up short of both. I hit what everyone thought was a perfect 7w lay-up right down the middle, but directly into the sun - we didn't see the ball land. When we got there we could not find the ball. There was no place for it to be other than in one of the hazards and we didn't know which one it was. There was a slight (very slight) slope in the fairway toward the swamp so I played the ball as lost in that hazard (they were both lateral hazards). There is probably a ruling on this, but I have never looked it up. dave

[mad max]

It also prevents you from possibly penalizing yourself an extra stroke by dropping where your first shot might be and "assuming" you hit your provisional in the exact same spot; at least you have another chance with the true provisional not to mess up your tee shot and lay 3 in the fairway instead laying 3 and having to punch out to the fairway.

Or you can lose your provisional and than be hitting 5 off the tee.

I have done this before many times, one thing I do now to help prevent this is I only keep one ball on me. If I hit a questionable shot or a ball O.B. I have to go back to my bag and retrieve another ball, this gives me time to calm down and relax a bit before hitting my next shot.

[Fourputt]

Exactly. They almost need to amend the rule in some manner for casual play. It is very unrealistic on a crowded muni to go back and re-hit after looking for a few minutes.

The rules will NEVER be amended for casual play. The Rules of Golf do not recognize "casual" play. As far as the Rules are concerned all play is for a legitimate score, whether it's for a competition or for handicap.

You play by the rules in a competition, or in a casual round you decide within your own group how you will treat some issues. Just don't think that because you've made that decision that you are playing it right just because there is no authority overseeing your actions. The best way is always by the rules. I've returned to the previous spot to play another ball quite a few times, and occasionally even when I'm not in a competition. I always try to play a provisional ball, but sometimes you just get surprised. If someone in your group has a riding cart, it really doesn't take very long to do it the right way. If you are all walking a busy course and your buddies agree, then drop, add 2 strokes, and play on. In my experience, most guys are loathe to go back more out embarrassment than because of pace of play constraints.

[iacas]

Exactly. They almost need to amend the rule in some manner for casual play.

Not gonna happen. How about people hit more provisionals? There's a solution that already exists. And pay attention to each other's golf balls.

[goblue107501]

I know rule won't be changed. My point was, even with 3 or 4 people watching a ball, seeing it land, then searching for a few minutes, they just disappear sometimes. There is no need to hit a provisional at all. The ball was in play. The ball could have went over a small tree or a mound off the fairway an you didn't see it come to rest. There is no danger of losing it to a hazard or OB, but when you get up to the spot you just can't find it. It could hit a rock and bounce way left, or even get stuck in a tree, maybe the beverage cart ran over it an buried it the ground, a leaf could blow over the ball and you just don't see it. The ball was in play, and you have no other reason to believe otherwise, so you have no reason to hit a provisional.

This might come up for me once or twice a year so it really isn't much of an issue. If the course isn't crowded I would go back and re-hit. But for the most part, when you look back and see people waiting, the best thing is just to move on. If everyone hit a provisional every time a ball goes off line the 5 hour round would take 6.