SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/golf-three-minute-search

How long may you search for a golf ball before it counts as lost?

Three minutes from when you or your caddie start searching.

Start playing free

  1. Five minutes
  2. Three minutes ✔
  3. Ten minutes

Why: Rule 18.2a says a ball is lost if it is not found within three minutes after the player or caddie starts looking. The clock starts when the search begins, not when the shot lands.

Huh, didn't know that: If you find a ball in time but are not sure it is yours, you get a reasonable extra moment to identify it.

The dad joke
Why do golfers only search for three minutes? Because after that the ball has officially moved on.
Like this card?
Play the game

References

Answer: Three minutes. Rule 18.2a says a ball is lost if it is not found within three minutes after the player or caddie starts looking. The clock starts when the search begins, not when the shot lands.

  1. The R&A, Rules of Golf, Rule 18 www.randa.org/en/rog/the-rules-of-golf/rule-18
    A ball is lost if not found in three minutes after the player or their caddie begins to search for it.
    Checked 2026-10-12.

Think this answer is wrong? Tap "Challenge this answer" on the card in the game and tell us why.

Test yourself in the game

Sports & FitnessWhy does a golfer play a provisional ball?Sports & FitnessYour provisional ball sits closer to the hole than where your first ball likely is. You hit it. What happens?Sports & FitnessYou put a new ball in play under stroke and distance, then find your first ball. Can you play it?

That's stuff everyone should know.