Two questions

I have two rules to ask about.

First, if your ball cannot be found but you think somebody has picked it up (stolen it) what is the rule there? I was on a pitch n putt the other day and hooked a ball onto the next fairway (the fairways don't have anything seperating them other than about a yard of rough on some). There were two kids down that fairway and where my ball went was out of our sight as it was over a hill. When I got down there I couldn't find my ball but was pretty certain that the two boys had picked it up but had finished that hole and gone to the next which was out of shouting distance. Being a beginner and not knowing much of the rules me and my friend decided I should take a penalty drop near where we think the ball would have been.

Second, what is the rule when your lie is so bad you'd rather take a drop? I presume it's a one shot penalty but where can you drop the ball?

Unless you see them pick it up (or someone tells you that they saw them pick it up) you lost your ball.
If you see them then you place a ball where your ball was.

If you are declaring it unplayable you can take two clublengths not nearer the hole, or you can go back as far as you like keeping the ball and the flag in line or you can replay the shot, if you were on the tee than you can tee it up again.

Gree's got it exactly. For a lost ball, you do the walk of shame.

Okay, thanks guys. At the moment being newbies we drop the ball a club length out of the rough no closer to the hole when we've lost one. I think from now we'll have to start hitting the provisional ball.

Losing balls is really frustrating, most of the time it's coz you take your eye off where it went. I don't mind if it's gone in some trees or out of sight but when it's just gone in some rough where you could actually play it when you find it then it sucks.

Let everyone else chat while you make sure you are watching your ball hit the ground, especially if its a bad shot.
In practice you should all watch each others balls.
Dont compund a bad shot by loosing the ball!
When you see it land, pick something behind where it fell and walk towards that.
Apart from annoying yourself by losing a ball its *very* annoying for the people behind you if it happens on every hole.

An old 'golfism':

You always take your eyes off a bad shot at the exact moment you should be watching if you ever want to see your ball again.

If I'm playing a casual round on a busy course and lose my ball in some deep rough, I'll usually add a penalty stroke and drop where I think I lost it. It's not legal, I know, but it keeps the pace up.

But if I launch one towards some known OB or lat hazard (or other potential lost ball spot) I'll hit a provisional to avoid the walk of shame.

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You can't take a provisional if to have reasonable evidence that the ball is in or lost in a lateral (water) hazard.
But why bother, you have other options to stroke & distance for water hazards and even more for LWHs

This is exactly what I and my golf partners do--and *all* our golf is casual golf! I'm very sensitive to the pace of play, since I'm likely to be the one bringing up the rear. I don't spend a lot of time looking for lost balls either, for that reason. If I can't find it in a minute or two, I drop one and play on.

What do folks do when they hit the ball into an adjacent fairway? Is that considered OB?

This is exactly what I and my golf partners do--and *all* our golf is casual golf! I'm very sensitive to the pace of play, since I'm likely to be the one bringing up the rear. I don't spend a lot of time looking for lost balls either, for that reason. If I can't find it in a minute or two, I drop one and play on.

What do folks do when they hit the ball into an adjacent fairway? Is that considered OB?

I hate penalty strokes, so if I'm on an adjacent fairway, I'll hit back over when it's safe.

As for the provo after finding the LWH, it's in case I decide to proceed under rule 26. There are some LWH's where it's better to take stroke and distance rather than to drop by the LWH (stroke and distance may leave you a look at the green).

"But if I launch one towards some known OB or lat hazard (or other potential lost ball spot) I'll hit a provisional to avoid the walk of shame.

I was making the point that if he believes it is in a lateral water hazard, he may not take a provisional

Decision 27-2a/2
Q. A player's tee shot might be in a water hazard, but clearly it is not lost outside a water hazard or out of bounds. The player announces that, since his ball might be in the hazard, he is going to play a provisional ball and he does so. Rule 27-2a seems to prohibit a provisional ball in the circumstances. What is the ruling?

A. The player did not play a provisional ball which, according to the Definition of “Provisional Ball”, is a ball played under Rule 27-2 for a ball which may be lost outside a water hazard or may be out of bounds. The second ball from the tee was in play since it was not a provisional ball.

Unless there are white stakes separating the two fairways, it is not OoB.

If anyone is on the fairway, I just quickly chip it back onto the right one, even if a better shot toward the green is available. My reason is, if I attempt the better shot there's a good chance I'll duff it and leave it still on the wrong fairway, creating a nuisance. But if the fairway is deserted, I'll give it a go.

So then to declare unplayable, I'd have to go over, look at it, then decide to go back to the tee box... time for some new strategy.

Hey, where did 'unplayable' come from? You were talking about a potential lost ball.
This is a new scene with different rules and options.