We've launched the new forums! Read more here

How long do you look for a lost ball

L

Lewshus

New member
Joined
Jul 24, 2012
Messages
72
Reaction score
0
Location
chicago-area
Handicap
golf
Alot of the courses near me have some crazy rough. The ball will roll five paces off the fairway and disappear and you can't find it unless you are right on it. I try not to hold up the round and give it two passes then I take a drop. I think the PGA allows 5 minutes to look for a ball. I know I dont take even a quarter of that time for fear of holding up a round.

I can't help but think how many shots i leave on the course because I don't take more time to search for my lost ball.

How long do you guys take to search for a lost ball? And how long would you wait for someone ahead of you before you get annoyed?
 
If I have a reasonable chance of finding it, no more than 5 minutes. If it's crossed a red stake, even less time.
 
If I'm playing in league, 5 minutes. Other outings maybe a minute or two if there is no one behind me waiting.
 
Mine? Or am I looking for some Easter eggs that previous golfers deposited in the woods before me??
 
I'll look for 2 minutes and then drop one and hit.
 
2 minutes max then it's time to play some golf
 
Yep I'd say 5 mins max and that's if no one is behind me. I use to look longer but it adds up and would make for a long round. No more doing that
 
I give up pretty quick. Maybe 1-2 min. max.
 
2 minutes at most maybe a little more if I'm not slowing things down
 
If I am concerned about losing a ball on the shot, I will hit a provisional. Then I will look for a couple of minutes before playing the provisional.
If I didn't hit a 2nd ball, then I will look about 3 or 4 minutes.
 
I am pretty quick to give up looking for a ball.
But, I will say the more expensive the ball the longer I look. 3-4 minutes max.
 
I will look for a couple minutes tops, I rarely look for the entire 5 minutes allowed unless the match really means something or finding the ball could mean halving the hole.

I keep a good eye on my ball when it starts running for cover and If I can't find it right away or with in a few minutes I hit my provisional that I have already played. If you have an eye on the area your ball was last seen you should be able to find it. If I can't then it wasn't meant to be.
 
Having a GPS has really sped up my search times. If I track the shot distances, I know where abouts to look. Looking in the 180 area or the 330 area is fruitless.
 
blugold said:
If I have a reasonable chance of finding it, no more than 5 minutes. If it's crossed a red stake, even less time.
Click to expand...

Pretty much this. If I see poison ivy or oak in large quantities, I won't even go there to look. I'd rather take a stroke penalty than get that crap on me.
 
If I know exactly where the ball should have landed no more than 5-7 mins, if I am just guessing less than 5 mins.
 
Lewshus said:
Alot of the courses near me have some crazy rough. The ball will roll five paces off the fairway and disappear and you can't find it unless you are right on it. I try not to hold up the round and give it two passes then I take a drop. I think the PGA allows 5 minutes to look for a ball. I know I dont take even a quarter of that time for fear of holding up a round.

I can't help but think how many shots i leave on the course because I don't take more time to search for my lost ball.

How long do you guys take to search for a lost ball? And how long would you wait for someone ahead of you before you get annoyed?
Click to expand...

I'd say you and I are on the same page. There are a couple of courses around here that are like that, you can see exactly where it went, walk straight to it and unless you are coming up on it at the perfect angle or are directly over the top of it, you can't see it. I'll search for a couple of minutes at the most, then I'm dropping. Hopefully a playing partner or two can assist as well, but nobody can accuse me of holding up play looking for a lost ball.
 
Depends on the mood and depends even more-so if someone is behind me and depends even more-so how many times it's happened in that round.

Probably start at 3-4 minutes and go down to two quick passes and then abandon ship.
 
If we can't find it in a minute or two, we move on. 5 minutes is a LONG time to search for a lost ball, and depending on your group that could accumulate into a bunch of 5 minutes each round!
 
5 mins is way too long imo. Especially for casual non competitive golf. As a foresome group I feel all should help track and asist in finding all the balls for your group when practical to do so and after a minute or so still no luck just drop and move on.

The problem is being in the rough vs the woods and weeds etc. Being in the rough within a few feet yrds of the fairway then no one wants to be penalized for what is basically a decent even good shot that is otherwise very much in play. Its not like the errant shot that went in the woods weeds, etc. If the entire group knows for sure that your ball is in the rough and knows the specific area then its not fair to be penalized imo in order to save time.
 
We usually play "PGA rules" when we play courses with ridiculous rough - if they'd find it on tour, you can drop where both player and opponent agree without penalty. For balls that go towards woods, this doesn't count. I usually spend maybe 2 minutes looking, and just hit.

Along similar lines - the worst is when you're trying to hit, and people are fishing other people's balls out of water hazards.
 
At the Most 2 minutes. Its only a few $$ and a stroke not the end of the world if I cant find my ball
 
GenErr said:
If we can't find it in a minute or two, we move on. 5 minutes is a LONG time to search for a lost ball, and depending on your group that could accumulate into a bunch of 5 minutes each round!
Click to expand...

Thats what i was thinking. I can't imagine having the patience to look for a ball for 5 minutes. The longer I look and can't find it, the more annoyed I get. And sometimes that annoyance creeps into my next shot. It's especially annoying when you walk to the spot that you "know" it should be and its no where to be found.
 
Depends on where it went if it was deep in to the stuff i don't even try but most of the time a few 3-4 min

But I never loose balls i play 18 holes and wear a ball out i only carry 1 sleeve in my bag no need for more #internetgolfer
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top