How many strokes?

[Jschiele]

So, I tee off and loose a ball in the bushes. I drop one near where i lost my tee shot and hit my second shot. Am I shooting 3 or 4?? My golf partners give me different answers!! Someone please clarify.

 

[bgammill]

Well, the right way would have been you went back to the tee and played a second ball, which would have been your third off the tee. If you just dropped so you didn't hold up play and weren't in a serious game I would say you hit your third shot from where you dropped.

 

[motoo344]

Well, the right way would have been you went back to the tee and played a second ball, which would have been your third off the tee. If you just dropped so you didn't hold up play and weren't in a serious game I would say you hit your third shot from where you dropped.

I think this is what most people do for the sake of time and I never see a problem with it unless you are playing in a tournament, for money or something similar.

 

[bgammill]

I think this is what most people do for the sake of time and I never see a problem with it unless you are playing in a tournament, for money or something similar.

I totally agree with you. If you're not playing for a purpose, tournament or money, then there is no reason to go back to the tee. I think if you're playing this way it would be your third shot from that location not your fourth.

 

[JB]

Well, the right way would have been you went back to the tee and played a second ball, which would have been your third off the tee. If you just dropped so you didn't hold up play and weren't in a serious game I would say you hit your third shot from where you dropped.

Wouldnt that be dependent on how the area is marked? If he hits it into a wooded area that is marked with red rather than white, he would not have to re-tee I do not believe.

 

[bgammill]

Wouldnt that be dependent on how the area is marked? If he hits it into a wooded area that is marked with red rather than white, he would not have to re-tee I do not believe.

That is very true JB but I read it as a lost ball.

 

[DCSerafin]

Speed of play for a casual round is always nice. JB has a good point, was this a hazard, OB, or simply a lost ball. If a hazard, hitting three is the correct call. If OB or lost ball, then "officially", you did the incorrect thing. If I was playing with you, I would state your next shot would be your fourth. This would be equitable to playing you're third from the tee. That's IMHO

 

[Smallville]

Well, the right way would have been you went back to the tee and played a second ball, which would have been your third off the tee. If you just dropped so you didn't hold up play and weren't in a serious game I would say you hit your third shot from where you dropped.

I think this is what most people do for the sake of time and I never see a problem with it unless you are playing in a tournament, for money or something similar.

I totally agree with you. If you're not playing for a purpose, tournament or money, then there is no reason to go back to the tee. I think if you're playing this way it would be your third shot from that location not your fourth.

Technically though, if you're doing it for the sole purpose of not going back to the tee and holding up play, the next shot should be your fourth shot, since the re-tee would have been your third shot. But if you're going to do that (hit 4 instead of 3), drop somewhere safe, not in the crap. (That's not in the rules either, but at least you're not dropping in the fairway and hitting 4).

I've played with several people who have obviously hit it OB off the tee, but decide that it will be ok so they don't hit another tee shot and then wind up dropping somewhere and be hitting 3 from 200+ yards from the tee. That's when it's ridiculous.

 

[jmatt]

Speed of play for a casual round is always nice. JB has a good point, was this a hazard, OB, or simply a lost ball. If a hazard, hitting three is the correct call. If OB or lost ball, then "officially", you did the incorrect thing. If I was playing with you, I would state your next shot would be your fourth. This would be equitable to playing you're third from the tee. That's IMHO

This is what we do locally to pick up the pace. If it's normally a re-tee, take 2 and hit from the area you lost it. Tournaments, that isn't going to fly, but in tournaments people hit a LOT more provisionals. If you think you've hit your first ball in the rhubarb, just hit a provisional the next time. Hit THAT in the trees, then I'd walk out and drop one to speed things up. I'd have blown my score, and for handicap purposes 5 off the tee is going to mean I've taken my maximum 7.

 

[buckbug]

This is what we do locally to pick up the pace. If it's normally a re-tee, take 2 and hit from the area you lost it. Tournaments, that isn't going to fly, but in tournaments people hit a LOT more provisionals. If you think you've hit your first ball in the rhubarb, just hit a provisional the next time. Hit THAT in the trees, then I'd walk out and drop one to speed things up. I'd have blown my score, and for handicap purposes 5 off the tee is going to mean I've taken my maximum 7.

Definitely if it's for recreation,keep the pace of play going and just drop where you saw it go out,hitting 3 from your drop but any league or tourney play would be a re-tee if it was OB, that would be 3 off the tee.

 

[tequila4kapp]

Wherever you drop it, my rule of thumb is to pretend it took you a shot to hit the ball from its lost location to your new location.

So drive OB, 1. "Hit" from OB to drop location, 2. Next shot, 3.

 

[wadesworld]

Wherever you drop it, my rule of thumb is to pretend it took you a shot to hit the ball from its lost location to your new location.

So drive OB, 1. "Hit" from OB to drop location, 2. Next shot, 3.

That completely ignores the penalty.

If you're going to do a casual drop, the "fair" way to do it is: Drive OB, 1. Penalty back to tee, 2. Imaginary tee shot to location of drop, 3. Next shot, 4.

 

[Smallville]

Wherever you drop it, my rule of thumb is to pretend it took you a shot to hit the ball from its lost location to your new location.

So drive OB, 1. "Hit" from OB to drop location, 2. Next shot, 3.

That's the result most people come up with, although as I said before, if you are going to take a drop after OB, you should technically be hitting four, not three.

 

[Smallville]

I was a little loose with my language. I assumed the drop was at the correct location, in which case the imaginary stroke to get there from OB is the penalty stroke.

You can't take an imaginary stroke from a place you can't take a real stroke.

 

[Oregon Golfer]

If it is a wooded area but marked with red stakes,(lateral hazard), it doesn't matter if it's "lost" or not. As long as you know it's in the "hazard" and you drop accordingly. There are actually 4 options of where to drop with a lateral.

1. On a backwards extension of the line from the hole to the entry point of the hazard margin.
2. The site of the last stroke.
3. Within 2 club lengths of the entry point. 4. 2 club lengths on the opposite side of the margin.


Your tee shot was 1 stroke, drop was 2nd stroke, now you're hitting 3.

Chipped via Tapatalk, never chutted.

 

[Smallville]

If it is a wooded area but marked with red stakes,(lateral hazard), it doesn't matter if it's "lost" or not. As long as you know it's in the "hazard" and you drop accordingly. There are actually 4 options of where to drop with a lateral.

1. On a backwards extension of the line from the hole to the entry point of the hazard margin.
2. The site of the last stroke.
3. Within 2 club lengths of the entry point. 4. 2 club lengths on the opposite side of the margin.


Your tee shot was 1 stroke, drop was 2nd stroke, now you're hitting 3.

Chipped via Tapatalk, never chutted.

He didn't say there were any stakes, he just said it was lost. And that is stroke and distance. (Or, as an illegal alternative, drop hitting four.) The exception at the end would not come into play according to the OP.


http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Rules-of-Golf/Rule-27/

27-1. Stroke And Distance; Ball Out Of Bounds; Ball Not Found Within Five Minutes
a. Proceeding Under Stroke and Distance
At any time, a player may, under penalty of one stroke, play a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played (see Rule 20-5), i.e., proceed under penalty of stroke and distance.

Except as otherwise provided in the Rules, if a player makes a stroke at a ball from the spot at which the original ball was last played, he is deemed to have proceeded under penalty of stroke and distance.

b. Ball Out of Bounds
If a ball is out of bounds, the player must play a ball, under penalty of one stroke, as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played (see Rule 20-5).

c. Ball Not Found Within Five Minutes
If a ball is lost as a result of not being found or identified as his by the player within five minutes after the player’s side or his or their caddies have begun to search for it, the player must play a ball, under penalty of one stroke, as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played (see Rule 20-5).

Exception: If it is known or virtually certain that the original ball, that has not been found, has been moved by an outside agency (Rule 18-1), is in an obstruction (Rule 24-3), is in an abnormal ground condition (Rule 25-1) or is in a water hazard (Rule 26-1), the player may proceed under the applicable Rule.

 

[Fourputt]

So, I tee off and loose a ball in the bushes. I drop one near where i lost my tee shot and hit my second shot. Am I shooting 3 or 4?? My golf partners give me different answers!! Someone please clarify.

There is no "correct" way because you have circumvented the rules by not hitting another ball from the tee. When your first shot went into the bushes, you should have played a provisional ball to save time and to be correct under the rules. Since you didn't, the closest thing to an accurate score is to assume that your second ball off the tee is in play and you will be hitting your 4th shot. That accounts best for the stroke and distance penalty you should have incurred.

 

[Smallville]

Good to have you back, Fourputt.

 

[Jschiele]

So, in that situation i should always retee? Then if I find my first tee shot in the bushes. I play first ball and pick up the retee? If I play my provisional that's 4 strokes? One: lost shot, two:retee, three:tee shot, four: 2nd shot?

 

[Smallville]

So, in that situation i should always retee? Then if I find my first tee shot in the bushes. I play first ball and pick up the retee? If I play my provisional that's 4 strokes? One: lost shot, two:retee, three:tee shot, four: 2nd shot?

If you find your first shot, you cannot play your provisional (unless it's OB). You have to proceed with your first ball. You can hit it, you can call it unplayable and go from there, but the provisional is no more.

Or, you can just hit the provisional and not look for the first ball. (But if someone finds it before you hit the provisional once it is past where your first ball should be, then you still have to take the first ball)

 

[TripleBogieTim]

It's really pretty simple....if you tee off and your ball enters an area not marked at all and you can't find it within the 5 minutes allowed, then you incur a penalty stroke and the next shot shall be played from as close to the orginal location as possible (stroke and distance) in other words go back to the tee and you are hitting 3.

Most people don't do it this way in casual rounds for pace of play and they just have you find a suitable spot near the last spot the ball was seen and drop and you are not hitting 4.

Honestly, in my opinion I think all shots like this should be treated as a lateral hazard to speed up pace of play...but as it is right now, the correct way is to go back and rehit or drop and take the extra stroke for the loss of distance.

 

[Tadashi70]

If you are playing it as a lost ball the common move is to hit three from the point you both agree the ball was last seen. Smalls is correct, if you went back to the tee and hit you would be hitting three and then four from where the 2nd tee ball ended up. So if your trying to save time and do it right (stroke wise) you are hitting four.

 

[Tadashi70]

So, in that situation i should always retee? Then if I find my first tee shot in the bushes. I play first ball and pick up the retee? If I play my provisional that's 4 strokes? One: lost shot, two:retee, three:tee shot, four: 2nd shot?

In this situation if you think your ball is lost or OB or in a potential re-tee situation, play a provisional.

 

[giorgiokaan]

You should go back to the tee and play the third, if you hit a provisional you need to hit the fourth with it. If you just dropped it is against the rules, except if you are just playing a casual round you should hit the fourth.

 

[Thechosen1]

I'm just curious. For times sake. If I were to just drop from the spot it went out(say red stakes) and I play out the rest of the hole.

If I just play the hole out. So say my next shot I hit onto the green and two putt, it's a 5 right? Cause how I always do it in my head is after I finish out the hole I jsut add one stroke knowing I had a penalty, or should I be adding two.