Rules Question - Provisional Ball

Wombatman · 09-08-2022 3:38pm #1

Links golf. Hit first drive long but into junk long grass.

Hit provisional ball not a long but on fairway.

Hit provisional again.

Can I now look for the first ball or has the provisional become my live playing ball?

boccy23 · 09-08-2022 3:40pm

You can still play it as a Provo until you reach the point where you think the original ball is. If found, then this is the ball in play. If not found within the 3 mins then the provo becomes your ball.

Wombatman · 09-08-2022 3:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119450015#Comment_119450015

So If I hit a cracking second with to provo to a foot of the stick can I just not bother looking for first ball?

Also I don't really know where the first ball is so how do I know if I have reached the point or not?

gypsy79 · 09-08-2022 3:47pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119450032#Comment_119450032

You will know you have reached the point if you find the ball

Why would you want to be on green for 4 instead of having chance been on in 2. I would back myself if I found ball in reasonable play

Wombatman · 09-08-2022 3:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119450055#Comment_119450055

Buried in junk links grass? LOLZ. I'd take the 5 thanks.

Wombatman · 09-08-2022 3:54pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119450055#Comment_119450055

OK. So if first ball turns out to have been behind provo drive then provo becomes live ball?

boccy23 · 09-08-2022 3:56pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119450032#Comment_119450032

No. You cannot declare a ball "lost". You have to search for it where you gest estimate that it landed.

boccy23 · 09-08-2022 3:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119450088#Comment_119450088

No, first ball if found is the ball in play.

Wombatman · 09-08-2022 3:59pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119450096#Comment_119450096

Didn't say declare lost. I said don't bother looking and hit provo ball a third time.

BraveDonut · 09-08-2022 3:59pm

Had a situation like this on a par 3 with OB behind.

Playing partner hits his tee shot long. Hits a provo due to OB - into the hole for 3

Walks up to find his first ball - botches chip, chips on, 2 putts for a 5

Wombatman · 09-08-2022 4:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119450120#Comment_119450120

Should have pull ball out of hole to activate it for a 3.

BraveDonut · 09-08-2022 4:04pm

Yeah - but he played in the sprint of the game

We could all see his ball when we got to the green

Wombatman · 09-08-2022 4:05pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119450137#Comment_119450137

Fair play. I wonder what the lads on the PGA Tour would have done 🙄

boccy23 · 09-08-2022 4:06pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119450128#Comment_119450128

You cannot decide a ball is "out of the hole". Hence, you need to search for it under the rules.

Wombatman · 09-08-2022 4:12pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119450149#Comment_119450149

When you take the ball out the hole is considered complete?

https://golf.com/instruction/rules/rules-guy-hole-out-provisional-ball-abandon-original/

slave1 · 09-08-2022 4:45pm

..and in matchplay your kind opponent(s) can look for your ball and find it in the dense stuff, then you have to play it

gypsy79 · 09-08-2022 4:49pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119450320#Comment_119450320

That was in article above and have had it happen to me

Lad was in woods all day. Delighted when I beat him on 19th

moycullen14 · 10-08-2022 11:05am

What happens if you don't declare the 2nd shot as provisional? Is provisional implied?

Had this recently. Scuffed ball into really deep rough about 20 yards in front of the tee. Didn't declare a provisional as it was definitely lost or unplayable (or so I thought). Of course, I walk up and find it. What happens then?

I dropped the original back on the tee (within 2 club lengths) and played it. I was then utterly confused about what to do. It was stableford so I just scratched the hole.

I know I should have declared the 2nd ball provisional but I had a complete brain f*rt.

boccy23 · 10-08-2022 11:45am

Announcing Play of Provisional Ball

Before the stroke is made, the player must announce that he or she is going to play a provisional ball:

It is not enough for the player only to say that he or she is playing another ball or is playing again.
The player must use the word “provisional” or otherwise clearly indicate that he or she is playing the ball provisionally under Rule 18.3

If the player does not announce this (even if he or she intended to play a provisional ball) and plays a ball from where the previous stroke was made, that ball is the player’s ball in play under penalty of stroke and distance (see Rule 18.1).

BraveDonut · 10-08-2022 12:19pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119452991#Comment_119452991

I understood that you could call the ball lost from the tee and not announce your next shot as provisional - thus playing 3 off the tee

boccy23 · 10-08-2022 12:29pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119453402#Comment_119453402

You can, but even if the original is found, that one cannot now be played. Your second tee ball or third off the tee is the ball in play and cannot be substituted back for the original tee ball.

BraveDonut · 10-08-2022 1:22pm

Yes - my point being that you can play 3 from the tee if you want to - simply by not declaring a provisional

boccy23 · 10-08-2022 1:49pm

Correct.

blackwhite · 10-08-2022 2:32pm

No matter what - you can always choose to replay a shot under penalty of one stroke.

If you hit a drive and don't like where it ended up, you can always just elect to play 3 off the tee. No requirement for the ball to be lost or otherwise

https://www.randa.org/rog/the-rules-of-golf/rule-18

8

Stroke-and-Distance Relief, Ball Lost or Out of Bounds, Provisional Ball

18.1

Relief under Penalty of Stroke and Distance Allowed at Any Time

At any time, a player may take stroke-and-distance relief by adding one penalty stroke and playing the original ball or another ball from where the previous stroke was made (see Rule 14.6).

The player always has this stroke-and-distance relief option:

No matter where the player’s ball is on the course, and Even when a Rule requires the player to take relief in a certain way or to play a ball from a certain place.

boccy23 · 10-08-2022 2:44pm

But what you can't do is play the second ball off the tee and then take the best one obviously. Someone mentioned earlier about playing the second ball as a provo and getting it in the hole. If the first ball was found, you can't "decide" to keep the second ball as the one in play if the second ball was declared as a Provisional. Obviously, if the second ball was declared the one in play under stroke and distance penalty, then that would play.

PARlance · 10-08-2022 4:15pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058258134/rules-question-provisional-ball

As it is short of where you expect your original ball, you can continue to play it as the provisional ball.

There's absolutely no requirement to search for your original ball if you don't want to. But if your playing partner or opponent (or opponent's support) want to search, they have the right to do so and you must help them identify your ball (not search) if they think they've found it.

Rules Question - Provisional Ball

Comments

Announcing Play of Provisional Ball