Teeing of at his club championship Bill was full of confidence – he had been playing well and had great expectations for the event. That was until he reached the 8th hole. Hitting his tee shot to the right of the fairway into some trees Bill was very concerned. As he approached a player on the adjoining fairway told him that the ball went “right at” a particular tree. Reaching said tree Bill could see that it was growing in an area marked Ground Under Repair? Is there a penalty involved? How would Bill proceed?
Bill has good reason to be concerned. Because, whenever a player’s ball can’t be found within five minutes of searching, the Rules deem the ball to be lost. Should this be the case, Bill’s only option would be to return to the tee, under penalty of stroke and distance. Bill would then be playing his third stroke. However, there are circumstances, when a ball is lost, that the player is not required to proceed under penalty of stroke and distance. One such circumstance is when a ball is lost in Ground Under Repair. When this occurs, the player may drop a ball, without penalty, within one club-length, outside the Ground Under Repair, at the spot the ball last crossed the outermost limits of the Ground Under Repair.
In Bill’s case, it is a question of fact whether his ball after being struck toward the Ground Under Repair is actually lost in the abnormal ground condition. For Bill’s ball to be considered lost in the Ground Under Repair there must be reasonable evidence to that effect. The fact that a fellow-competitor saw Bill’s ball go “right at” a tree situated within the GUR, may not be sufficient evidence. It depends on several other criteria. Did the fellow-competitor see the ball come to rest in the GUR? Could the ball have ricocheted off the tree? Is the tree in the middle of the GUR? Could the ball be just outside the GUR? How much area does the Ground under Repair cover? According to the Rules of Golf, reasonable evidence means there is no doubt that the ball could be anywhere else. Unless Bill (and the fellow-competitor) can rule out every other possibility, then he must consider his ball lost outside the ground under repair.
Unfortunately for Bill, unless he finds his ball within five minutes of searching, he would be required to return to the tee to play his third shot. Should Bill elect to take relief for a ball lost in Ground Under Repair, without reasonable evidence to support that fact, Bill would be disqualified for a serious breach of Rule 27-1 (Lost Ball) by playing from the wrong place.