36 • OCTUBRE • Nº 17 / GOLF CV
Golf for the residents While playing the 18th hole at La Serena recently, my playing partner decided to attempt to cross the water hazard with his second shot to the par five. While good contact was made with the ball there was some doubt as to where the ball finished. After searching in the vicinity of the green and the surrounds my playing partner declared, “my ball is lost it must be in the water hazard”. This comment, or something similar, is one we are familiar with, however, for a ball to be lost in a water hazard including lateral water hazards it must be known or virtually certain that the ball has come to rest within the margins of the haz-
ard. A player can not make the assumption that their ball is in the water hazard just because the ball cannot be be found in the surrounding area. There fore n the absence of knowledge or virtual certainty that the ball has come to rest in the water hazard, a ball that cannot be found we must assume that the ball is lost somewhere other than in the hazard and the player must proceed under Rule 27-1, by returning to where their last stroke was made from under penalty of stroke and distance. To put this example into perspective, if players have been searching for a ball out-
side a water hazard, e.g. in long grasses, bushes or trees adjacent to the hazard, they logically must have believed that there was a good chance that the ball may be at rest outside of the hazard. There is a possible exception where it may make the assumtion that the ball is lost in a water hazard is if it has been struck down a closely mown surface that has a ditch running across marked as a water hazard, and the players ball cannot be found on either side of the ditch near the line of flight. In this example, where there is virtually no other possibility that the ball could be lost
