Golf Rules: Lost Ball
by
Jeremiah Bohannon
on
Sep 30, 2013
Golf Rules - Lost Ball
You arrive at the location which you thought your golf ball would come to rest and it isn't there. What now? Here are a few of the most important procedures golfers should follow for a lost ball, based on two scenarios.
Scenario One - Arrived at Location
You walked or rode the golf cart to the location where your ball should be, as mentioned in the first paragraph. But there is no ball to be found. What now?
First, players have a total of five minutes to look for a lost ball when they have arrived at the general location. If the ball is not found, the golfer must go back to the location of the previous shot for a drop. If the previous location was the tee box, the golfer can re-tee. There is a one stroke penalty for the lost ball.
Strokes counted would be as follows: original shot which ball was lost (1), penalty for lost ball (2), dropped or re-teed shot (3).
Scenario Two - Provisional Ball
The golfer has teed off with a driver on a long par-4. There are no out of bounds areas or hazards, but there is large field of grass left of the hole. The tee shot has gone into the large field. Knowing that the ball may be lost, the golfer may hit a "provisional ball" in case he/she arrives at the location of the first ball and it cannot be found.
If the original ball is found, it MUST be played and the provisional ball is not in play.
If the original ball is not found, the provisional ball becomes the ball in play under penalty of one stroke.
Strokes counted are as follows if the ball is not found: original shot which was lost (1), penalty for lost ball (2), provisional shot (3).
Golf Rules - Lost Ball
You arrive at the location which you thought your golf ball would come to rest and it isn't there. What now? Here are a few of the most important procedures golfers should follow for a lost ball, based on two scenarios.
Scenario One - Arrived at Location
You walked or rode the golf cart to the location where your ball should be, as mentioned in the first paragraph. But there is no ball to be found. What now?
First, players have a total of five minutes to look for a lost ball when they have arrived at the general location. If the ball is not found, the golfer must go back to the location of the previous shot for a drop. If the previous location was the tee box, the golfer can re-tee. There is a one stroke penalty for the lost ball.
Strokes counted would be as follows: original shot which ball was lost (1), penalty for lost ball (2), dropped or re-teed shot (3).
Scenario Two - Provisional Ball
The golfer has teed off with a driver on a long par-4. There are no out of bounds areas or hazards, but there is large field of grass left of the hole. The tee shot has gone into the large field. Knowing that the ball may be lost, the golfer may hit a "provisional ball" in case he/she arrives at the location of the first ball and it cannot be found.
If the original ball is found, it MUST be played and the provisional ball is not in play.
If the original ball is not found, the provisional ball becomes the ball in play under penalty of one stroke.
Strokes counted are as follows if the ball is not found: original shot which was lost (1), penalty for lost ball (2), provisional shot (3).
