The lost ball. Like death and taxes, they can’t be avoided.
So we should know everything the Rules of Golf has to say about them. But do we really? Let’s see how you get on as we dive into the murky world of golf balls that cannot be found…
Golf rules lost ball: Everything you need to know about the lost ball rules
What is a lost ball?
Let us begin with the bit everyone knows. A lost ball is… one that’s not found in three minutes after you, your caddie, your partner, or partner’s caddie, start looking for it.
Don’t delay in getting to the scene…
You know it’s a three-minute search. Don’t try to get clever by hanging back in the hope others might get going first and help you eke out a bit more time.
The definition of lost deals with those who delay the start of a search to gain an advantage. It says that if a player “deliberately delays the start of the search in order to allow other people to search on their behalf” then the clock starts ticking when the player would have been in a position to search had they not held back on getting to the area.
