Under the current Rules of Golf (27.1c), a ball is deemed lost if it has not been found or identified by the player within five minutes of beginning their search. However, under the proposed changes (18.2a), a ball is deemed lost if it is not found within three minutes - that's a 40% reduction in time allowed to search for a lost ball. Remember - if your ball strays offline or there is a good chance that you'll have trouble finding it, hit a provisional ball to maintain your group's speed of play and avoid the embarrassment of walking back to the ground behind to replay your shot. | 
