Lost ball in 'free-drop' zone..

[ejimsmith]

I played a palm desert course last week, the kind with houses along the fairways.   The local rule is that if you hit your ball into the flower bed that defines the back of the house's yard, you get a free drop.   I hit my ball right into one of these, pretty much into the center of a large cactus.   I couldn't find my ball though.   My question is:  do I still get a free drop (with a new ball), or since I couldn't actually find my ball, despite being 100% sure it went into the flower bed, do I have to take a lost ball/OOB penalty?

Thanks!

[reedf]

My guess would be that the area should be considered either as abnormal ground conditions (Rule 25-1.c) or an obstruction (Rule 24-3). Either way, if you a virtually certain your ball is in there, you get a free drop. Does your local rule describe how the ground is classified?

[Fourputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ejimsmith

I played a palm desert course last week, the kind with houses along the fairways.   The local rule is that if you hit your ball into the flower bed that defines the back of the house's yard, you get a free drop.   I hit my ball right into one of these, pretty much into the center of a large cactus.   I couldn't find my ball though.   My question is:  do I still get a free drop (with a new ball), or since I couldn't actually find my ball, despite being 100% sure it went into the flower bed, do I have to take a lost ball/OOB penalty?

Thanks!

A flower bed is an artificial construction, and is therefore an obstruction .  If it is "known or virtually certain" that the ball is lost in the obstruction , you still get relief and may substitute a ball.

Quote:

b . Ball in Immovable Obstruction Not Found

If it is known or virtually certain that a ball that has not been found is in an immovable obstruction , the player may take relief under this Rule. If he elects to do so, the spot where the ball last crossed the outermost limits of the obstruction must be determined and, for the purpose of applying this Rule, the ball is deemed to lie at this spot and the player must proceed as follows:

(i) Through the Green : If the ball last crossed the outermost limits of the immovable obstruction at a spot through the green , the player may substitute another ball, without penalty, and take relief as prescribed in Rule 24-2b(i) .

x

Quote:

24-2 . Immovable Obstruction

a . Interference

Interference by an immovable obstruction occurs when a ball lies in or on the obstruction , or when the obstruction interferes with the player’s stance or the area of his intended swing. If the player’s ball lies on the putting green , interference also occurs if an immovable obstruction on the putting green intervenes on his line of putt . Otherwise, intervention on the line of play is not, of itself, interference under this Rule.

b . Relief

Except when the ball is in a water hazard or a lateral water hazard , a player may take relief from interference by an immovable obstruction as follows:

(i) Through the Green : If the ball lies through the green , the player must lift the ball and drop it, without penalty, within one club-length of and not nearer the hole than the nearest point of relief . The nearest point of relief must not be in a hazard or on a putting green . When the ball is dropped within one club-length of the nearest point of relief , the ball must first strike a part of the course at a spot that avoids interference by the immovable obstruction and is not in a hazard and not on a putting

[ejimsmith]

thank's 4-putt, you the man!  (fyi: i did take it as a free drop, only to overhit the green, chip and 2-putt for a double).

and for the record, the actual local rule was written as: "Flower beds are restricted to play.  The ball must be dropped, without penalty, outside the flower bed".