Rules question · Rule 17.1c · Medium
Ball not found, maybe in the water: can I take penalty area relief?
Your ball flies towards a pond that is marked as a penalty area. Nobody sees where it lands. Right next to the penalty area there is long rough where it could also be. After three minutes of searching you have not found it. May you take penalty area relief for one penalty stroke?
Answer
No, it must be virtually certain that it is in the penalty area. As it is, the ball is lost
Penalty area relief is only allowed if it is known or virtually certain that the ball is in the penalty area. If it could just as well be in the rough, it is lost after three minutes of searching and you must take stroke-and-distance relief. By the way: a pond is always a penalty area, even if it is not marked.
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