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Say you are in the middle of the fairway on a par 5 and you hit your second in the heather...ill go down to the heather and if i dont find my ball ill drop and hit 4 from where it entered. No way im dropping there and hitting 5 id rather hit 4 from the fairway. 2 strokes is too much and 1 stroke is just fine especially since we dont have fans finding our balls. Many people would want a change on stroke and distance and like i said im not even talking about OB off the tee. I feel if you hit ob then you dont walk up to your ball and drop by the ob i feel you hit another tee ball(now some will even argue the rule should be changed to do just that..i wont). All i want is when you know your ball isnt truly lost to only add 1 stroke and play from where it entered. Not only does this speed up play it doesnt over penalized the amateur golfer when hes trying to play like the pro does. I MEAN YOUR TRYING TO PLAY BY THE PRO RULES AND FROM THEIR TEE BOXES AND YET THEY HAVE MARSHALLS AND FANS FINDING THEIR BALLS. IN EFFECT THE PROS WHO ARE 100 TIMES BETTER THAN YOU ARE GETTING AN ADVANTAGE.HOW DOES THAT WORK? DO YOU SAY TOUGH LUCK LITTLE AMATUER OR CAN YOU LOOK AT IT AND POSSIBLY GIVE THE AMATEUR A SMALL BREAK IN THE RULES?I see nothing wrong with dropping and taking one stroke when its apparent to all the ball is not lost. This is also coming from a guy who truly does respect the game and want to play the tips and make all of his putts. But im not going to penalize my buddy or myself hitting into the heather and not finding it because we would back the whole course up. Its obviously not lost.Thats just my take and officially im breaking the rules id just like to see the amateur given a small break in this case.

Im not trying to be ridiculous about this and for debates i know we will have some who will be firm and say a rules a rule and i agree. This is my small attempt to pose a question if we should or could possibly think about a rule change for amateurs in certain sitautions. And this would also go beyond my in the heather question i have posed. If not thats cool i understand but it is of my belief its not a unreasonable question or thought to help all amateurs not just me or my golfing group. Maybe its as simple as it being a local rule at your club. Im not trying to rewrite the entire golf book here but rules of all sports and even golf seem to change and evolve.

I had an argument with my buddy about this. He has the same argument as you..."It's not OB, but I just couldn't find it in the rough. I know it's there so I shouldn't have a penalty and just a free drop." Problem is, he claims he's better than all of us. He'll say he shot a 85 when in actuality if he played by the rules he shot a 102. The thing with golf is that players who hit it in the fairway should be given an advantage over those who hit it in the rough. Why should I be penalized for using the right club and hitting it straight? If you hit it in the high heather and know that it might be impossible to find your ball, drop your provisional and hit it straight. Then go down there and try to look for your ball. If you can't find it, take the stroke penalty and move on. Golf is a game of integrity and the rules should be followed as best they can.

What about this situation? Ball Missing in Fairway but Obviously Not Lost

I think the difficult part in the provisional ball situation is when you play with people who say "Ah, you can just drop if you can't find it." And want to take off. Or worse, when you hit your ball and the two people you don't know in the other cart just drive off as soon as it's out of sight.

I would maybe suggest a rule change that combines the principles of the water hazard and unplayable lie rules, where you drop from "nearest point of lost sight" and simply get one penalty stroke. The obvious problem with that, though, is that people would try to get away with murder on their drop location.

I do sympathize with the original post. I can't even think of a single time when I ever saw a pro lose a ball, no matter how far off the fairway it was, because they've got guys all over to help them out. Do the rules say anything about spotters or is that a local rule added at pro tournaments?

This is a great discussion i appreciate all the feedback. I play by the rules of golf in my city tournament but i do drop and take 1 stroke if i hit it in the heather and cannot find it......While i agree sometimes pros lose balls its very rare to say the least when an amatuer can lose 1 or more a round because of high heather,leaves or even simply bad spotting from the tee. The pros losing balls frequently is definately an arguement you would lose in comparison to amateurs. Why? They have people finding their balls and spitting their balls off tents,elbows onto fairways and greens. Sure pros lose their balls but one would have to admit its so rare. The amateur who isnt as good as the pro has none of these advantages. Im just trying to even up the score a bit for us hackers.

I think in this example the 2nd shot went in the heather, golfer dropped one in a better spot and took a stroke penalty, so instead of hitting 3, he is hitting four onto the green, he makes the long putt and gets a par. I don't have a problem with that.

Now if the guy tells me he recorded a birdie, we'd have some issues to discuss.l

I respect that opinion........ Do you think its fair to say that pros in tournaments then have an advantage over us amateurs when we play on weekends in terms of rules since they have markers and galleries to help them find their balls?

Im trying to erase a pros advantage over an amateurs. They already have all the advantages and skills they need.

I also sympathize with tigeroverjack to an extent. We deal with conditions such as internal OB, unmanicured woods and assorted nasty junk right off the fairway that the pros rarely have to deal with in addition to their spotters who virtually eliminate the possibility of a lost ball. The rule isn't going to change though. I'd be in favor of considering such situations the same as hitting into a hazard, but until there is a rule change the only one it would hurt would be yourself by dropping your handicap lower than it would be through strict observance of the rules.

It could hurt some marriages as well if i hold up the entire course and everyone else does as well. Alot of times your 100% sure its findable then have to go back and hit when its not . The guys behind me may kill me..or at least say "who does this guy think he is,Tiger woods"

No im more concerned with the rule than i am the time it takes. The time is just an effect of the rule.

League, I can't keep up with all of these scenarios, and don't know why I "piped in." Thanks for your "league" response!

I hear ya loud and clear,i get frustrated when i can,t find a ball although i have improved on spotting where it goes by picking a spot to walk towards a tree bush ,house in the dustance or whatever and i also count how many steps sideways that it entered rough,i used to explode when i hit a duffer and was too busy throwing tantrums to keep eye on ball,the pros are lucky to have ball finders,would,nt it be great if our course had ball spotters at every hole,however,i do take stroke and distance,my course only plays par 68 and it is short,but the fairways are slim to beef up the challenge,i like the challenge of losing 2 strokes and that punmishment has helped me concentrate on making sure the ball is on the short stuff from the tee

it's as simple as that, and to try to even things up between the pros and the amateurs is laughable, they're playing in championships by the rules but some amateurs want to make their own rules. a player can always hit a provisional and should do so unless he's scared of hitting it in the poo again and maybe losing 2 balls!

the only thing i dont understand is why it is such a big deal for amateurs to abide by different rules then professionals. in hockey, adult rec hockey leagues (beer leagues) dont have hitting, fighting, and some dont dont even allow slap shots, rec baseball leagues allow the use of aluminum bats. flag football well is Flag football. the point is that many other sports have made some adjustment to the rules to allow all who play to get more enjoyment from the game. as stated earlier this rule change would only be in effect in "recreational" outings. Golf is really the only sport where even the beginner is expected to follow the same set of rule as a pro. now on the other hand, if you are playing in a tournament or for money then you should abide by the rules with no exceptions, however if you are just out having fun and enjoying the game then a simple change like "tigeroverjack" suggested is not a big deal to me.