When a player’s ball has not been found within three minutes or is known or virtually certain to be out of bounds, for two penalty strokes, the player may take relief by dropping the original ball or another ball in a relief area defined as below (see diagrams further down for clarification):

​

1. Establish the Ball Reference Point: the point where the original ball is estimated to have a) come to rest on the course, or b) last crossed the edge of the course boundary to go out of bounds.

 

2. Establish the Fairway Reference Point:  the point of fairway of the hole being played that is nearest to the ball reference point, but is not nearer the hole than the ball reference point.  (Note: "fairway” means any area of grass in the general area that is cut to fairway height or less.)

​

If a ball is estimated to be lost on the course or last crossed the edge of the course boundary short of the fairway, the fairway reference point may be a grass path or a teeing ground for the hole being played cut to fairway height or less.

​

3.  Establish the Relief Area based on the Reference Points - anywhere between two lines: 

  a) a line from the hole through the ball reference point (and within two club-lengths to the outside of that line), and

  b) a line from the hole through the fairway reference point (and within two club-lengths to the fairway side of that line).

 

Limits on Location of Relief Area:

• Must be in the general area, and

• Must not be nearer the hole than the ball reference point.

​

The player may not use this option to take relief for the original ball when:

• That ball is known or virtually certain to have come to rest in a hazard, or

• The player has played another ball provisionally under penalty of stroke and distance - however, player may use this option to take relief for a provisional ball that has not been found or is known or virtually certain to be out of bounds.

 

Once the player puts a ball in play under this Local Rule:

• The original ball that was lost or out of bounds is no longer in play and must not be played.

• This is true even if the ball is found on the course before the end of the three-minute search time (see Rule 6.3b).

​

This gives the player a quicker and less risky way of resuming play than the traditional method of returning to the tee and re-hitting.  In the case of a lost or out of bounds ball off the tee, the player is lying 3 after taking this relief, exactly the same as if they had gone back to the tee and hit another ball, but with less risk of losing yet another ball.