Find Your Ball, or Else
By Ryan Gregg, Chief Operations Officer
Three minutes to find the $5 golf ball and avoid the trek back where the player last played, including a penalty stroke.
Rule 18.2b states when a ball is lost or out of bounds, the player must take Stroke-and-Distance Relief. This means that the player gets one penalty stroke and loses the benefit of any gain of distance towards the hole from the spot where the previous stroke was made.
Rule 6.3 suggests that a player should put an identifying mark on the ball. Finding and playing the right ball is the player's responsibility.
The time for search starts when a player (or their caddie) begins actively searching. So, once they start looking for the ball in the area where it's most likely to be, the 3 minute search time will begin. However, there are certain situations where the clock may stop temporarily, such as when play is suspended or if the player mistakenly identifies the wrong ball. The search time will still stay at 3 minutes and will include any time taken before the interruption and once the ball search continues.
There is no penalty for causing the ball to move during search. Rule 7.1 allows the player to take reasonable actions to find the ball. This means the player may use their hands, feet, clubs, rakes, etc. Pretty much do anything you can to find that expensive golf ball.
Actions include moving sand, water, and objects like bushes, tree branches and grass. In some cases, players may break these objects. If they are broken as a result of reasonable efforts to find the ball, there is no penalty for this. Still, a general penalty could apply if the actions are excessive and unnecessarily improve the conditions affecting the next stroke.
If the ball is in sand, and it is moved during search, the player needs to replace the ball and restore the original lie. If the lie is altered in other areas, other than sand, the ball must be placed within one club-length of the most similar lie within that area. If the player plays without following these procedures, they will get the general penalty.
Losing a golf ball during the round is not only expensive, but also a real score killer. Use the 3 minutes wisely by actively searching within the Rules.