Definition: Lost
The status of a ball that is not found in three minutes after the player or his or her caddie (or the player's partner or partner's caddie) begins to search for it. A ball does not become lost as a result of the player declaring it to be lost.
If a player deliberately delays the start of the search in order to allow other people to search on their behalf, the search time starts when the player would have been in a position to search had they not delayed getting to the area.
If the search begins and is then temporarily interrupted for a good reason (such as when the player stops searching when play is suspended or needs to stand aside to wait for another player to play) or when the player has mistakenly identified a wrong ball:
- The time between the interruption and when the search resumes does not count, and
- The time allowed for search is three minutes in total, counting the search time both before the interruption and after the search resumes.
[+] Lost/1 - Search Time Continues When Player Returns to Play a Provisional Ball
If a player has started to search for his or her ball and is returning to the spot of the previous stroke to play a provisional ball, the three-minute search time continues whether or not anyone continues to search for the player's ball.
[+] Lost/2 - Search Time When Searching for Two Balls
When a player has played two balls (such as the ball in play and a provisional ball) and is searching for both, whether the player is allowed two separate three-minute search times depends on the circumstances of each situation.
If the balls are in the same vicinity where they can be searched for at the same time, the player is allowed only three minutes to search for both balls.
But, if the likelihood is that the location of the balls are too far apart to be searched for at the same time, the player is allowed a three-minute search time for each ball.
In addition, even if the balls are in the same vicinity, there may be other factors that mean that the player is allowed a three-minute search time for both balls. Examples of this include when:
- The original ball is seen to go into bushes whereas the provisional ball is in rough nearby, but is clearly not in the bushes.
- The original ball bounces on the fairway and is known to have only just reached the rough whereas the provisional ball lands much farther into the rough than where the original ball could have come to rest.
