my personal best was with a ball OB, so it' not the end of the world.

Didn't say it was the end of the world, just saying that continuing to move the process/round forward and having fun is more important than grinding over a rules decision or holding up others on the course.

No he was able to make an incredible shot on the ball and get it to the layup zone. Ball was literally in a little runoff creek that happened to look right at the hole.

When I say got a free drop I meant from me finding the ball in the creek, no way someone coming from the tee box would have ever found that ball after it rolled, bounced off a cart path and shot into the woods

I play with a group of old guys from time to time who play the "leaf rule". If it goes into an unraked area and everyone saw it but you cannot find it, it is assumed to be under a leaf in that area. Drop with no penalty.

I was playing a solo round in Tahoe a few years back and this happened to me. I was moving at a good pace and there was no one behind me. Because of the circumstance, I spent extra time trying to find the ball that cut the corner on the fairway and landed in the thick huge patch of rough.

Took me a good few minutes to find. I was able to play it as it lies and get GIR and par 2-putt. It was one of those scenarios where there was no way it was truly lost. I was very close to dropping with no penalty because the nearest hazard was 20 yards to the right, shot was straight, and the area was flat, meaning it was not careening to any hazard.

If someone had been behind me I would have dropped no problem with no penalty. It was just a fun solo vacation round.

I also think in a serious group round it would have been found faster, so maybe the whole convo is null!

I play like most of you say, if it should have been found drop and move on to play bad fast. If probably went in a hazard stroke and drop.

I was playing with my FIL a few weeks ago and cut a corner on a short par 4. I swore I knew where it was headed but couldn't find it for the life of me so I dropped and pitched up and over. I get to the back side of the green and see a ball and ask him whose it is. He shrugs so I walk over and see…it's my tee shot. He laughs and said "are you f ing kidding me, what a shot, screw your provisional and play that! So I chipped up and one putt for a birdie