How do you "Re-Hit" a Second Shot?

[pittpanther]

There's been umpteen discussions concerned with those who re-hit vs. those who drop with a penalty. My goal is not to rehash that discussion.

My question is more related to exactly how you would re-hit. Follow my example:

- imagine a long par 4 or a par 5 hole
- tee shot is fine, second shot is iffy but looks like it's in the rough
- after looking for a couple of minutes, you decide the ball is lost and you go back to re-hit your second

My question is a simple one - How do you find your exact spot to re-hit from? I can imagine you can get reasonably close to where you were, but I doubt that "reasonably close" is good enough for USGA rules. And even if you find your original spot, isn't it now a divot? Do I have to place my ball into the divot I just created?

Would some of the guys who routinely re-hit, please explain their method for finding their spot and placing their ball on a re-hit?

[jojoampt]

find the divot, or general area and drop the ball.

[Zeph]

c. Ball Not Found Within Five Minutes

If a ball is lost as a result of not being found or identified as his by the player within five minutes after the player's Side or his or their caddies have begun to search for it, the player must play a ball,
under penalty of one stroke,
as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played (see Rule 20-5).

I remember where my last shot was, never had a problem finding that spot. Then I drop it somewhere close, but not into the divot.

[fredloves2golf]

The best time saver, though, is the PROVISIONAL. You hit it right there, where you were as "nearly as possible" of the original ball.

If there's ANY doubt to a ball, I'll hit a provisional. For a couple reasons:
a) if you need to use it, it saves time
b) it's a free swing! Now I don't have to wander down the fairway and hope I find the original AND wonder if my swing will hold up to hit a decent rescue. The provisional shot is usually pretty good, so it's like a boost of confidence.

[goblue107501]

If you figured out a yardage for your shot, it should be pretty easy to go back to that yardage. If you were a long way and didn't care what the yardage was, or didn't leave a divot at all, just go back to a close spot and play from there. I don't think that 5-6 minutes is long enough for someone to forget where they last played from.

[chriskzoo]

Find the closest reasonable spot.

That being said, if you're not in a tournament and there is somebody behind you, you should just drop a ball where you think your second landed and take a penalty stroke. Last thing I want to see is some dude who I've been waiting 5 minutes for to look for his ball driving back in his cart to re-hit.

[iammpspeer]

Find the closest reasonable spot.

Agreed.

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[pittpanther]

Find the closest reasonable spot.

As I said, I don't want to re-hash the issue of re-hitting during causal rounds. However, if you're going to drop instead of re-hit, shouldn't you take two penalty strokes, not just one? After all, a lost ball is "stroke & distance" penalty.

[Ignorant]

However, if you're going to drop instead of re-hit, shouldn't you take two penalty strokes, not just one? After all, a lost ball is "stroke & distance" penalty.

You're right and that is what you should do if you keep some kind of track of your scores. In no case that kind of a result would be accepted in a regular stroke play but in Stableford you would just have zero points from that particular hole.

One thing about dropping the ball. If and when you find your divot you should drop the ball as close to the original spot as possible (NOT just somewhere close). But remember, the original spot would NOT be in the divot but immediately BEFORE it (club hits the ball first and only then it hits the ground to create the divot). So, if the ball lands or rolls into the divot you need to re-drop as it would be closer to the hole than the original spot your ball was on. This means that you will never have to rehit your ball from your own divot, unless you have managed to hit a massive thick shot, in which case your ball would propably not be lost....