What are my options if I hit a ball into the woods,no stakes and I cannot find the ball?

Answer 1

If after looking for the ball for 5 minutes and not being able to find and identify it as yours, you have no other option than to declare the ball lost and take a stroke and distance penalty. This means you have to go back, as near as possible, to where you originally played the last stroke and drop another ball within 2 club lengths no closer to the hole. You then add one shot to your score and continue playing, counting all strokes taken with the original ball. If the last stroke was a tee shot played from the tee you are able to treat the next shot as another tee shot and play it from anywhere within the teeing area and tee it up if you wish
A good tip for speeding up play is the playing of a " provisional ball". If you hit a shot either from the tee or from anywhere "through the green" and feel that it could be lost or OOB, you can declare that you wish to play a provisional ball. This ball can be played until it reaches a point which is closer to the green than where the original ball is thought to be, without the strokes being counted.You can then search for your original ball. If you find it and identify it as yours you then play the original ball as long as it is in bounds. If you cant find your ball within 5 mins or it is in fact OOB, you then continue with the provisional ball. All strokes taken with the provisional are counted along with any strokes made with the original plus a one shot penalty for the lost ball
It is important to note that a provisional ball CAN NOT be played if there is evidence that the original ball is lost in a hazard.

Answer 2

if you hit it into the woods and there is a doubt you will not find hit one from were you are now to save time, if you find the ball in the woods follow the rules if its out of bounds, and pick up the ball you hit as a provisional, if you don't find the ball in the woods play the second one you hit with a one stroke penalty

Answer 3

Lost ball go back to the place you last hit the ball from and drop it there with a penalty stroke

Answer 4

lost the ball