My tee shot on #6 East went into a cypress tree and did not come out. What happens next?
You can always try to climb the tree and play the ball out of the tree a la Bernhard Langer. I didn't like that option.
If you can see the ball, and you can positively identify it as your ball, then you can take an unplayable lie and play the ball within 2 club lengths of the spot on the ground below where the ball is nestled in the tree. Interesting that they don't restrict the vertical distance.
You can try to climb the tree to identify the ball, and if you dislodge it, there is no penalty for accidentally moving the ball while trying to identify it. If this were to happen, then you could either replace the ball in the tree to try to play it, or, now that you can identify it, you can take the unplayable lie option above.
This also applies to trying to shake the ball out of the tree. In this case, you must declare beforehand that your intention is to take an unplayable lie penalty.
Alas, I could not see the ball, let alone identify it. So even though I knew it was in the tree, it is still a lost ball (stroke and distance penalty). My club plays a local rule that allows you to take a two stroke penalty and drop where you believe the ball is. This is great for pace of play, and I think all clubs should put this local rule in place.
