Lost Ball Regulations for Golf that produces Misunderstandings

These rules in golf are really intended to be simple, but like any rules and regulations designed to cover any situation they often become truly mind-boggling. Specifically on balls which are lost or hit out-of-bounds there is often quite a lot of uncertainty as to where a player is to play their next shot. Golfers commonly throw down another ball wherever they believe it may be fair and continue on with the round. Here we would like to attempt to take some of the mystery from all these rules so all players can feel certain they are doing what's right.

We will analyze shots that are hit into problems into four places, and those locations are going to take into account a substantial share of the rulings the golfer must have on exactly where to play a ball from. They involve lost golf balls, out of bounds, hitting into water hazards along with unplayable lies.

1. Lost balls. That's really the hardest of the penalties. Once you start your search you have a maximum of five minutes to find your golf ball. If it is not found you drop that stroke, another stroke for penalty together with the distance you hit your ball, because you have to go back to the place you originally hit your ball. To avoid wasting time if you suspect you've hit a ball you won't have the ability to find, announce that you are hitting a provisional ball make use of that ball if the first ball can't be found, and you will be playing the fourth golf shot.

2. Out of bounds. This often marks the outside confines of the course and is frequently marked by white stakes about thirty yards apart. The only distinction between a lost golf ball and OB is the fact one might not really physically lose your ball hit out-of-bounds. Other than that you drop that shot, a penalty shot and distance hit, because you have to go back to the spot where you struck that shot.

3. Water hazards. There will be two kinds of water hazards: regular water hazards (established by yellow stakes or maybe a yellow line) and lateral water hazards (determined by red stakes or red line). Either will offer choices regarding how you may proceed.

With regular water hazards you've got three alternatives. If you can, you may play your ball as it lies lacking any penalty. Or you can play the golf shot where you struck the ball which includes a one stroke penalty. Otherwise you can go to the point where your golf ball entered the water, and from there walk away from the hole in a straight line, playing your ball at any point all along that line, with a single stroke penalty. In other words, if you can't play your original shot, it is one golf shot in water, one golf shot out and you'll be playing the third shot.

Lateral hazards, or water that borders either side of a hole, may be played with any of the choices for regular water hazards together with a couple of additional possibilities. You can drop a ball from inside two club lengths from where your ball entered into the hazard, as long as the place where you drop isn't closer to the hole, which includes a one stroke penalty. This is the most likely choice, but occasionally it may work out much better to proceed to the other side of the hazard, look for the point in which it will be equidistant with the hole to where the ball initially crossed the water, then go back in a straight line from there away from the hole, dropping at any point along that line, including needless to say one stroke penalty.

4. Unplayable lies. If the shot comes to rest in a place that you can't complete a shot (against a tree or bush, for instance), you've three alternatives. Drop your ball inside two club lengths of the place that the golf ball lies (but never closer to the hole), drop your golf ball on a direct line away from the ball from the hole, or return and hit your shot from where you struck your golf shot. Each includes one penalty stroke. The majority of the time you'd prefer choice number one.