Lost Ball

This section explains what options exist under the rules and how to choose the option and proceed with play when a ball is lost.

Many players have tried to expedite play when they lose their ball by playing from nearby where they believe the ball was lost,and taking a single penalty stroke avoiding the delay of going back to the point of the original stroke. However, this is not compliant with the rules. There are only two choices when a ball is lost. It does not matter whether it should not be possible to lose it in that area, it is lost when you cannot find it within three minutes of arriving in the approximate area and beginning to look.

• Go back to the point of the last stroke, take a penalty stroke and play again

• To avoid the additional delay of returning to the point of the original shot, under an approved Local Rule that was introduced for the 2019 season you may alternatively go out to the fairway, not nearer the hole, take two penalty strokes and play the next shot. This is comparable to the first option, but assumes that you had a reasonable next shot from the original point, that ends up on the fairway.

Note that the original rule is because if a ball is lost, you cannot just drop one as you do not know where (exactly) to make the drop. A drop could be completely advantageous if you decided to drop in a spot where there is a clear line of site to the hole! Even deigning to take a penalty stroke you could easily be far better off than if you found the ball.

So do the right thing if you do not go back to the point of the last shot. If it is lost, take two penalty strokes and go out to the fairway closest to where you think the ball was lost.

Do note that if a ball goes into a penalty area, it is never deemed to be lost and your choices are more. See the section- "What to Do" for a complete explanation.)

For fairness for all, players should play to the official rules.