Changes to the Rules of Golf 2023 - Part 11

Search for the original ball and the provisional ball in the same area: How long do you have to search?

Basically, you have 3 minutes to search for a ball and if it is not found within this time, it is "lost".

What happens if you search for 2 balls in the same area? (the original ball and the temporary ball have come to rest in the same area).
Many people are now of the opinion that they are given 3 minutes to search for each ball.

This is simply wrong. As the position of the two balls is close together, you only have a search time of 3 minutes for these two balls. You would only get two separate search periods if the search areas are separated - perhaps on different sides of the fairway - but otherwise both balls would be lost if you do not find both balls or one of the balls within the 3 minutes.

Your 3-minute search period begins when you (or your caddy) start searching. However, you must not delay unnecessarily in starting the search.

In the meantime, if you would like to know more about the rules of golf, please contact me directly hans.kienesberger@golf.at.