Ball Lost in a Bush

[Colbygrant]

The speed of play is a hot topic in the world of golf both professional and perpetually in amateur comps. Therefore, it was refreshing to see changes to rules in recent years for balls lost in hazards but I thought there had been a similar change for balls lost in general play.  Unfortunately I haven't been able to find one and was curious as to whether I have been unable to find it because I had the proverbial "boy look" or whether I was dreaming and there actually hasn't been a rule change in this area? ...which of course for amateur competition would be an excellent addition to help improve the pace of play, rather than having to go back to the original shot location. 

[Josh Parker]

19 minutes ago, Colbygrant said:

The speed of play is a hot topic in the world of golf both professional and perpetually in amateur comps. Therefore, it was refreshing to see changes to rules in recent years for balls lost in hazards but I thought there had been a similar change for balls lost in general play.  Unfortunately I haven't been able to find one and was curious as to whether I have been unable to find it because I had the proverbial "boy look" or whether I was dreaming and there actually hasn't been a rule change in this area? ...which of course for amateur competition would be an excellent addition to help improve the pace of play, rather than having to go back to the original shot location. 

Here is the USGA link for the following Lost Ball

 

Golf's New Rules: Major Changes

New Rule: Under Rule 18.2, the time for a ball search (before the ball becomes lost) has been reduced from 5 minutes to 3 minutes.

Reasons for Change:

Limiting the search period to 3 minutes is more consistent with the underlying principle that golf is to be played in a prompt and continuous way, without long pauses in play.

In most cases, if the ball is going to be found, it will be found within the first 3 minutes.

Although this change may increase the number of lost balls, on average the overall impact should be to speed up play.

Knowing that the search time is limited to 3 minutes should encourage players to play a provisional ball when they believe there is a chance their ball may not be found.

[DaveP043]

4 hours ago, Colbygrant said:

The speed of play is a hot topic in the world of golf both professional and perpetually in amateur comps. Therefore, it was refreshing to see changes to rules in recent years for balls lost in hazards but I thought there had been a similar change for balls lost in general play.  Unfortunately I haven't been able to find one and was curious as to whether I have been unable to find it because I had the proverbial "boy look" or whether I was dreaming and there actually hasn't been a rule change in this area? ...which of course for amateur competition would be an excellent addition to help improve the pace of play, rather than having to go back to the original shot location. 

In 2019 we had the new Modal Local Rule E-5, which if adopted allowed the Player to drop somewhere near the estimated location of the Lost Ball, or a ball thats gone OB, with TWO penalty strokes. Thats the only change with regard to a lost ball.  Of course, you can always play a provisional ball, which eliminates the need to walk back to the tee.

I'm interested, what changes did you see regarding a ball lost in a Penalty Area (or hazard)?

[Colbygrant]

Hi Dave. Thanks for your response. Your information is exactly what I was referring to but couldn't find in the rules app! So, what is the rules reference in the R&A I can find this change at? I'm not sure what you mean by Modal Local Rule E-5.

Regarding lost ball in hazard, I am quite likely wrong about it being a change to rule about lost ball in hazard (i.e. red/yellow staked), but that's the only rule I could find that was close to what I was looking for and thought perhaps I had overstretched my recollection of rule changes. So thanks again. 

[Colbygrant]

18 hours ago, Josh Parker said:

Here is the USGA link for the following Lost Ball

 

Golf's New Rules: Major Changes

New Rule: Under Rule 18.2, the time for a ball search (before the ball becomes lost) has been reduced from 5 minutes to 3 minutes.

Reasons for Change:

Limiting the search period to 3 minutes is more consistent with the underlying principle that golf is to be played in a prompt and continuous way, without long pauses in play.

In most cases, if the ball is going to be found, it will be found within the first 3 minutes.

Although this change may increase the number of lost balls, on average the overall impact should be to speed up play.

Knowing that the search time is limited to 3 minutes should encourage players to play a provisional ball when they believe there is a chance their ball may not be found.

Thanks Josh. I had found that info which was actually helpful too but Dave's response was bang on the money. Now, I just need to find out where I find the rule. Cheers 

[cnosil]

11 hours ago, Colbygrant said:

Thanks Josh. I had found that info which was actually helpful too but Dave's response was bang on the money. Now, I just need to find out where I find the rule. Cheers 

Here is the R&A rule:  https://www.randa.org/en/rog/the-rules-of-golf/rule-18

R&A Model Local Rule E5 discusses alternative to stroke and distance for lost ball.:  https://www.randa.org/en/rog/committee-procedures/8

[DaveP043]

12 hours ago, Colbygrant said:

Hi Dave. Thanks for your response. Your information is exactly what I was referring to but couldn't find in the rules app! So, what is the rules reference in the R&A I can find this change at? I'm not sure what you mean by Modal Local Rule E-5.

Regarding lost ball in hazard, I am quite likely wrong about it being a change to rule about lost ball in hazard (i.e. red/yellow staked), but that's the only rule I could find that was close to what I was looking for and thought perhaps I had overstretched my recollection of rule changes. So thanks again. 

Model Local Rules are found in the Committee Procedures section of the Rules, in Section 8.  I know that in the USGA app, you have to go to the Settings and enable Expert Mode in order to access Clarifications and Committee Procedures, I'm not sure if the R&A version works the same.

[Colbygrant]

Thanks DaveP043

[jhoney12]

Thanks for valuable informations.