The Rules of Golf are tricky! Thankfully, we’ve got the guru. Our Rules Guy knows the book front to back. Got a question? He’s got all the answers.
Let’s say, while playing behind a slow group, I hit my ball into an area where I can’t find it in the allotted 3 minutes. If I couldn’t play my next shot anyway because they’re delaying my pace of play, can I continue to look for my ball without penalty? – Barry Nygard, via email
It’s a reasonable thought, Barry…but reasonableness isn’t the standard here.
The three-minute search time is a hard deadline, regardless of whether slowpokes would have had you waiting. Once you or your caddie (or your partner or partner’s caddie in partner formats) start to search for your ball, if it’s not found within that allotted three minutes it is lost and no longer in play, and Rule 18.2b requires that you play under stroke and distance. (See also Definition of Lost.)
Now, from a budgetary standpoint, after going back and replaying the previous shot, should you still be delayed and have time to look for that missing $5 ball, nothing stops you from spending extra time trying to locate it — just don’t hold up the group behind you….
For more lost-ball guidance from our guru, read on …
When a ball gets hit high into one of the many palm trees around here, it often gets stuck and does not come down. Is it considered lost or unplayable? – Beth Gemmill, Sarasota, FL
So much for what goes up must come down, eh, Beth?
The ball is lost if you can’t find it in the prescribed 3-minute search time; see “Definition of Lost.”
If you can find it and are able to ID it as yours (and, yes, you can use binoculars and such if possible and you’re not a tree-climber), you could decide to take unplayable ball relief under Rule 19.2.
With a one-stroke penalty, you can take stroke-and-distance relief, back-on-the-line relief or lateral relief. Rules Guy’s father would make a joke about using your tree-iron, but Rules Guy himself is far too sophisticated for that.
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Got a question about the Rules? Ask the Rules Guy! Send your queries, confusions and comments to rulesguy@golf.com. We promise he won’t throw the book at you.
