THE RULE OF THE WEEK

LOST BALL

• A ball is deemed lost if not found or identified as his by the player within five minutes after the player begins to search for his ball.
• Here are two cases where the original ball is found within the 5 minute search period after another ball was teed and after another dropped with two different results.
  • Rule 27-1/1 - after two minutes of searching for his ball a player returns to the tee and tees up another ball but before he has made a stoke and before the 5 minute search period is up, his ball is found. The teed ball was not yet in play and the original ball is still the ball in play.
  • Rule 27-1/2 - a player hits his second shot, searches for the ball for two minutes and then goes back and drops a ball under RULE 27-1. Before he can play the dropped ball and before the 5 minute search period is up, his original ball s found. When the player took the drop with the intent to play a ball under 27-1 he must continue with the substituted ball. The original ball is no longer the Ball in Play,
• If a Player plays a ball which was deemed lost (found after the 5 minute search period is over) or after a substitued ball was put into play (including a ball dropped - 27-1/2) he shall incurr a penalty of loss of hole in Match Play.