There is always the moment of anxiety. The moment you arrive where you thought your ball might be only to see the rough was deeper than you anticipated.
A lot deeper.
This could take a while. You might wonder if you’ll ever find the ball in time, as the seconds tick away and three minutes threatens to expire. Then, whether it’s by luck or judgement, you see a sliver of something. It’s a miracle. You’ve found your ball. You’re not trudging back to the tee.
But the danger’s not over. You wander over to your trolley, 30 yards away, to get a club and on your return you realise you can’t find the ball again.
Some people put down gloves to make sure they can retrace their steps. It’s one of the principal reasons I wear a hat – that and an ever-receding hairline and a skin tone that melts on exposure to the summer sun.
It’s so I can put something close to the ball when it’s in a particularly rough thicket. Even then I might not locate it straight away.
But what’s the form if you can’t find it? What if you’ve lost your ball once more and need to search for it again? What happened to the clock that began when you first started looking?
If this sounds like a lot of questions, don’t worry. All the answers are about to be revealed…
Golf lost ball rule: Does the clock stop when you find a ball?
Some of you might think you get another three minutes. Others might argue the sands of time ran out as you were messing about getting a club from your trolley.
