Linda,
I hope this email finds you well.
Once I played 18 holes, after a big storm, and my fellow
competitor hit a shot to the green but the ball rolled into the bunker.
When we got to the green, we realized that the bunker was
full of water and there was no way to search for the ball.
We decided to play another ball, outside the bunker,
considering the bunker ground on repair, but we felt wrong because we didn't
find the ball and the relief was made according to the place we imagined the
ball was lying under the water.
Would you please tell me what is the correct procedure in
this situation? Was the ball lost despite we certainly knew it was in the
middle of the water within the bunker? How do you take relief if you really don't know where the
ball is?
Thank you very much.
Lou from Argentina
Dear Lou,
Your fellow competitor’s ball was lost in casual water.
Since both of you were virtually certain the ball was in the bunker, he was
permitted to substitute another ball and drop it:
1. with no penalty at the nearest point of relief that is no
closer to the hole in the bunker; or
2. if it is not possible to drop in the bunker, under
penalty of one stroke behind the bunker on the line-of-sight to the hole [Rule
25-1c (ii)].
In #2, when you are trying to establish your line, your ball
is deemed to lie at the spot where it crossed the margin of the casual water
(your best guess).
Linda
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