Hi Linda,
A little background before my question: We were playing in
men's league and the ground was still wet and soft so we were playing
lift-clean-and-place.
It was four-person teams, counting only the best two scores
on each hole.
A member of our team tried to cut the corner on a par-4, dogleg.
We all saw his ball land and it appeared to be on the fairway or in the
right rough, beyond the fairway but short of a lateral hazard that ran the
length of the hole.
When we reached the spot where we all agreed the ball
landed, it was nowhere in sight. There was no place the ball could be lost
so we felt it was either plugged or it had rolled into the hazard.
Does he have options or is this a lost ball?
Thanks,
Lou from Ontario
Dear Lou,
This is a lost ball, Lou. He must play another under stroke
and distance. You are not permitted to assume a ball is in a hazard without
knowledge or virtual certainty. This is a ball that might be in the hazard, might
be plugged, or might be in the rough
– no certainty here at all.
Linda
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