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Purpose of Rule: Rule 7 allows the player to take reasonable actions to fairly search for their ball in play after each stroke. But the player still must be careful, as a penalty will apply if the player acts excessively and causes improvement to the conditions affecting their next stroke.
This Rule also applies in situations when the player is attempting to find the ball and takes reasonable actions that are likely to reveal the ball’s location by moving it.
If a player sees a ball in a tree or some other location where they are unable to retrieve the ball, the player may not assume that it is theirs but rather must identify it in one of the ways provided in Rule 7.2.
Purpose of Rule: Rule 7 allows the player to take reasonable actions to fairly search for their ball in play after each stroke. But the player still must be careful, as a penalty will apply if the player acts excessively and causes improvement to the conditions affecting their next stroke.
The Official R&A App for the 2023 Rules of Golf includes nearly 30 diagrams and over 50 how-to videos that help to explain the Rules and gives guidance for many common situations. Other features include: The Player’s Rule Finder is intended to help you quickly find a summary of the Rule you need to answer your Rules questions.
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Identifying your ball (Rule 7.2): You must identify your ball anywhere on the golf course. If you need to lift your ball to identify it you must mark the position, lift it to identify it and replace it. Important, you cannot clean it. Ball Unplayable (Rule 19.1): You are the only person who may decide to treat your ball as unplayable by
