Rule 18 · Relief with a penalty
Rule 18: Lost ball, out of bounds, provisional ball
Official title: Stroke-and-Distance Relief, Ball Lost or Out of Bounds, Provisional Ball
If your ball is lost or out of bounds, it costs one penalty stroke and you play again from the previous spot. A provisional ball saves you the walk back.
18.1 Stroke and distance
You may take this relief at any time: one penalty stroke, and you play from where your previous stroke was made.
18.2 Ball lost or out of bounds
A ball is lost if you have not found it within three minutes. It is out of bounds if all of it lies outside the boundary. In both cases you must take stroke and distance. Since 2019 there is also Local Rule E-5: if your Committee has adopted it, you may play on for two penalty strokes without going back.
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18.3 Provisional ball
If your ball might be lost outside a penalty area or out of bounds, you may play a provisional ball. You must announce it first and use the word ‘provisional’ or something similar. If you find the first ball in time, you abandon the provisional, even if the first ball is in a penalty area. If you do not find it, the provisional becomes the ball in play. It also does if you play it from a spot nearer the hole than where you think the first ball is.
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