Rule of the Week – What to Do When a Ball Is Lost or Out of Bounds

If a ball is lost or goes out of bounds, the player must take stroke-and-distance relief by adding one penalty stroke and replaying the ball from the previous spot.

18.2b What to Do When Ball Is Lost or Out of Bounds

• If a ball is lost or out of bounds, the player must add one penalty stroke and play the original ball or another ball from where the previous stroke was made (refer to Rule 14.6).
• Exception: A player may substitute another ball under certain Rules when it is known or virtually certain what happened to the original ball. This applies if the ball:
  • Came to rest on the course and was moved by an outside influence (see Rule 9.6) or was played as a wrong ball by another player (see Rule 6.3c(2)),
  • Came to rest in or on a movable obstruction (see Rule 15.2b) or an abnormal course condition (see Rule 16.1e),
  • Is in a penalty area (see Rule 17.1c), or
  • Was deliberately deflected or stopped by any person (see Rule 11.2c).

Penalty for Playing Ball from the Wrong Place in Breach of Rule 18.2: General Penalty

Example: A player hits their ball out of bounds. They must add one penalty stroke and play a new ball from the spot where the previous stroke was made. However, if the ball is virtually certain to have been moved by an outside influence, such as a spectator, the player may substitute another ball without taking stroke-and-distance relief.