Golf Rules – Do you always have to search for a potential lost ball?

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Q.
You have hit your ball where it could be lost outside of a penalty area. You then stripe your provisional ball straight down the middle, do you have to search for your original ball?
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A.
No, it is not compulsory to search for your ball. If you choose not to look for it, that doesn’t mean the provisional ball automatically becomes the ball in play, as you cannot declare your ball lost. The provisional ball only becomes the ball in play after you have searched for the original ball for 3 minutes, and haven’t found it; OR, if you make a stroke at the provisional ball at a spot that is closer to the hole than where you THINK the original ball was lost.
Rule 18.3.
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