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rule for provisional ball

rollin

rollin

"Just playin golf pally"
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So you hit a tee shot that you feel has a good chance of being lost and therefore you hit a provisional. Your original shot (although) questionable for being found was long before heading into trouble. Now you hit the pro.but you hit a much shorter shot. Obviously you will need to pass your pro.ball before getting to the area where your original ball is. But its not practical to walk past your pro and then return back to it only after you cant find your original. So for me it makes sense to hit the pro again and then see if you can find your first ball further up. Of course for sake of pace its imo a must to do this. But what is the rule technically? Are we technically not allowed to hit the pro ball a second time even though you have to pass the ball on your way to search for the original ball?.
 
You play your provisional ball until you reach the point where your original ball is likely to be. If you play your provisional ball at any point after that, your original ball is lost and the provisional is the ball in play.
 
No. You cannot hit your provisional a second time.

Also, you cannot hit a provisional if the ball is headed towards a hazard. If you believe the ball is towards a hazard and you hit a provisional, then you have abandoned the first ball and must play the second.
 
Officially ... Once you deem the first ball lost and you have played the Provisional ball, that ball now is in play. Regardless if you found the first one after the fact. (that is if you want to play by the "Rules") But if you walk up and find your first ball, I wouldn't care if you played it or not.
 
27-2 --- b. When Provisional Ball Becomes Ball in Play
The player may play a provisional ball until he reaches the place where the original ball is likely to be. If he makes a stroke with the provisional ball from the place where the original ball is likely to be or from a point nearer the hole than that place, the original ball is lost and the provisional ball becomes the ball in play under penalty of stroke and distance (Rule 27-1).
 
I feel like this is awfully straight forward.
 
Canadan said:
27-2 --- b. When Provisional Ball Becomes Ball in Play
The player may play a provisional ball until he reaches the place where the original ball is likely to be. If he makes a stroke with the provisional ball from the place where the original ball is likely to be or from a point nearer the hole than that place, the original ball is lost and the provisional ball becomes the ball in play under penalty of stroke and distance (Rule 27-1).
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We actually had to look this up one day when playing as a buddy played his provisional knowing it was behind the first ball and then we found the first one and he hadn't played the provisional from beyond that point and we weren't sure what the rule was.

in talking about this with some others he would not have been allowed to play the first one if he had looked for it then said I can't find it then went and played the provisional and then while heading towards the provisional found his first one.
 
blugold said:
No. You cannot hit your provisional a second time.

Also, you cannot hit a provisional if the ball is headed towards a hazard. If you believe the ball is towards a hazard and you hit a provisional, then you have abandoned the first ball and must play the second.
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Both of these statements are wrong. As Captain Caution said, you may continue to play the provisional until you arrive in the area where the original is thought to be. If you play a stroke at it after reaching that point, then it becomes the ball in play.

If there is a possibility that the ball might be lost outside of the hazard, for instance if there is tall grass outside of the margin but near the water hazard, then a provisional ball is allowed. Also if the ball goes out of sight and the conditions around the hazard are not known, then a provisional ball may be warranted. If it is certain that the ball is in the hazard, or if it is known that there is no place outside of the hazard where a ball may be lost, then playing a provisional ball would not be allowed.

golfinnut said:
Officially ... Once you deem the first ball lost and you have played the Provisional ball, that ball now is in play. Regardless if you found the first one after the fact. (that is if you want to play by the "Rules") But if you walk up and find your first ball, I wouldn't care if you played it or not.
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You cannot "deem" a ball lost. A ball is lost only if it meets the definition of "lost ball" in the rules.

[h=4]Lost Ball[/h]A ball is deemed "lost" if:

a.
It is not found or identified as his by the player within five minutes after the player's side or his or theircaddies have begun to search for it; or

b.
The player has made a stroke at a provisional ball from the place where the original ball is likely to be or from a point nearer the hole than that place (see Rule 27-2b); or

c.
The player has put another ball into play under penalty of stroke and distance under Rule 26-1a, 27-1 or28a; or

d.
The player has put another ball into play because it is known or virtually certain that the ball, which has not been found, has been moved by an outside agency (see Rule 18-1), is in an obstruction (see Rule24-3), is in an abnormal ground condition (see Rule 25-1c) or is in a water hazard (see Rule 26-1b orc); or

e.

The player has made a stroke at a substituted ball.
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emart2173 said:
We actually had to look this up one day when playing as a buddy played his provisional knowing it was behind the first ball and then we found the first one and he hadn't played the provisional from beyond that point and we weren't sure what the rule was.

in talking about this with some others he would not have been allowed to play the first one if he had looked for it then said I can't find it then went and played the provisional and then while heading towards the provisional found his first one.
Click to expand...

They've got decisions for almost anything.

27/16 Ball Declared Lost Is Found Before Another Ball Put into Play
Q.A player searched for his ball for two minutes, declared it lost and started back to play another ball at the spot from which the original ball was played. Before he put another ball into play, his original ball was found within the five-minute period allowed for search. What is the ruling?

A.A player cannot render a ball lost by a declaration - see Definition of "Lost Ball." The original ball remained in play - see Definition of "Ball in Play."
 
Canadan said:
haha, is it? Your original post sounds confused to the actual rule.
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Fourputt said:
Both of these statements are wrong. As Captain Caution said, you may continue to play the provisional until you arrive in the area where the original is thought to be. If you play a stroke at it after reaching that point, then it becomes the ball in play.

If there is a possibility that the ball might be lost outside of the hazard, for instance if there is tall grass outside of the margin but near the water hazard, then a provisional ball is allowed. Also if the ball goes out of sight and the conditions around the hazard are not known, then a provisional ball may be warranted. If it is certain that the ball is in the hazard, or if it is known that there is no place outside of the hazard where a ball may be lost, then playing a provisional ball would not be allowed.



You cannot "deem" a ball lost. A ball is lost only if it meets the definition of "lost ball" in the rules.


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links_slayer said:
Pretty sure you can, as long as you haven't passed the spot where the original ball was.
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I will gladly stand corrected. I learned something new today.
 
Fourputt said:
Both of these statements are wrong. As Captain Caution said, you may continue to play the provisional until you arrive in the area where the original is thought to be. If you play a stroke at it after reaching that point, then it becomes the ball in play.

If there is a possibility that the ball might be lost outside of the hazard, for instance if there is tall grass outside of the margin but near the water hazard, then a provisional ball is allowed. Also if the ball goes out of sight and the conditions around the hazard are not known, then a provisional ball may be warranted. If it is certain that the ball is in the hazard, or if it is known that there is no place outside of the hazard where a ball may be lost, then playing a provisional ball would not be allowed.
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So in theory, or practice, you could play driver and have the ball fly towards fescue. Play a provisional with a 7i, play your provisional up the hole. Then when you get to the spot where your first ball might be, start your search and find it. Play the original ball with no penalty?
 
blugold said:
So in theory, or practice, you could play driver and have the ball fly towards fescue. Play a provisional with a 7i, play your provisional up the hole. Then when you get to the spot where your first ball might be, start your search and find it. Play the original ball with no penalty?
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Correct.
 
blugold said:
Well then, file that under the good to know category.
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Of course, if you don't find the original ball, then those extra strokes with the 7 iron add up quickly. I rarely play my provisional ball with a different club than I played the previous shot unless I'm simply having a horrid day with my driver or whatever club I used.
 
captaincaution said:
Got to use the rules to your advantage sometimes.
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The other way to think about it, you have to miss the fairway in order to need a provisional...:beat-up:
 
blugold said:
The other way to think about it, you have to miss the fairway in order to need a provisional...:beat-up:
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I've hit a provisional and found my ball in the fairway after a wicked bounce from a tree that we couldn't track!
 
thanks and this cleared up my question. The one thing I do (or did) know was that you cannot play a prov and then after finding your ball determine you don't like it and then play your prov anyway.
 
Canadan said:
27-2 --- b. When Provisional Ball Becomes Ball in Play
The player may play a provisional ball until he reaches the place where the original ball is likely to be. If he makes a stroke with the provisional ball from the place where the original ball is likely to be or from a point nearer the hole than that place, the original ball is lost and the provisional ball becomes the ball in play under penalty of stroke and distance (Rule 27-1).
Click to expand...

Correct.
 
rollin said:
thanks and this cleared up my question. The one thing I do (or did) know was that you cannot play a prov and then after finding your ball determine you don't like it and then play your prov anyway.
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Absolutely correct. You don't get to make a choice. If your original is found within 5 minutes and is in-bounds, the provisional is automatically abandoned at that instant. If you then went and played your provisional, you'd be playing a wrong ball.
 
Canadan said:
They've got decisions for almost anything.

27/16 Ball Declared Lost Is Found Before Another Ball Put into Play
Q.A player searched for his ball for two minutes, declared it lost and started back to play another ball at the spot from which the original ball was played. Before he put another ball into play, his original ball was found within the five-minute period allowed for search. What is the ruling?

A.A player cannot render a ball lost by a declaration - see Definition of "Lost Ball." The original ball remained in play - see Definition of "Ball in Play."
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Thats good to know. We discussed that and none of us were sure about the time limit or if the ball was out of play if he did that quick look and would have gone to play provisional while the rest of us looked and non one ever went back to follow up

learned something new with this.
 
Thanks for the post, I never realized the "correct" ruling and have heard people explain it many different ways. Now I understand!
 
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