Simple lost ball

[Jaco]

I realise this will seem a bit rudimentary but I’ve struggled to find a definitive answer online. If I play a ball off the tee it sometimes heads into the bushes and I’ll play a provisional. Occasionally though I will think the ball is findable (because I think it hasn’t quite gone in) and then fail to. Same thing happens with wayward shots off the fairway. My friends and I tend to just drop a ball a metre or so out from where we think it went in, and that’s fine, but I don’t want to look an idiot if I’m playing with other, more competent golfers.

 

[jim8flog]

If you cannot find the ball and have played a provisional yu continue with the provisional and your next shot is your 4th.

If you cannot find the ball and have not played a provisional you have to go back to the tee and hit another one.

If a similar thing happens when you hit from the fairway similar rules apply if you have to go back you go back to where you played the last shot from and add 2 shots to your score

What you do amongst yourselves when playing friendly is up to you.

 

[Jaco]

That basically confirms what I’d read, it just surprised me that walking back 150 or 200 yards to play another shot was still necessary, as it seems to go against the ethos of the new emphasis on speeding up the game. Thanks for clarifying though ?

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

That basically confirms what I’d read, it just surprised me that walking back 150 or 200 yards to play another shot was still necessary, as it seems to go against the ethos of the new emphasis on speeding up the game. Thanks for clarifying though ?

Which is why its important to remember that it’s only going to happen if you haven’t played a provisional. So when in doubt get a provisional out...?

 

[Colin L]

If you don't find a ball and you haven't played a provisonal, you have to go back to where you last played it from, play your next shot and add a penalty.

If it's your tee shot, you go back and play 3.
If it's your 3rd shot, you go back and play your 5th etc etc.

Some clubs might have a local rule that in social play you can just drop one on the fairway, so if you lose your tee shot you drop for 3 and play your 4th. But you can't ever do that in a comp.

That's not quite correct. The local rule allowing the alternative to stroke and distance of dropping a ball on the fairway with a 2 stroke penalty is not limited to social golf. It can legitimately be in place for any competition anywhere.
You will not be likely to find it in place in a competition in any CONGU club since that would make the competition non-qualifying for handicapping purposes but in terms of the Rules of Golf it could be. You might well find it in place in competitions in other handicapping jurisdictions.

I see a new myth in the making here.

 

[LincolnShep]

That basically confirms what I’d read, it just surprised me that walking back 150 or 200 yards to play another shot was still necessary, as it seems to go against the ethos of the new emphasis on speeding up the game. Thanks for clarifying though ?

It's always a good idea to play a provisional if there is any chance of not finding the first. If you smoke one down the middle, you might decide not to look too hard (or at all). Anyway, it's a horrible trudge back to the tee.

 

[rulefan]

Re optional local rule.
1) As mentioned above it can't be used in CONGU qualifiers
2) More importantly, you can't just drop the ball somewhere on the fairway. There is a specific defined procedure. See Model Local Rule 8 E-5
https://www.usga.org/content/usga/h...letype=cp&section=rule&rulenum=8&subrulenum=5
3) It costs 2 strokes on to your score