The Rules of Golf are tricky! Thankfully, we’ve got the guru. Our Rules Guy knows the book front to back. Got a question? He’s got all the answers.
On a par 3, my playing partner, “Steve,” flew the green into the hedges beyond. He re-teed and without declaring a provisional hit it to 4 feet. Upon reaching the green, the group on the next tee — located on the far side of the hedges — said the ball was next to that tee, in-bounds but with no real shot. Steve was adamant that his second ball was in play, as he hadn’t said, “Provisional.” I argued that you can’t declare your own ball lost. Who was right? – Joe Lauder, Warrington, Cheshire, England
“Steve” was adamant, and he was also correct.
Sorry, Joe, but you always have the option to play under penalty of stroke and distance, and the Rules do not require you to play a ball provisionally. When “Steve” did not announce his provisional before making the stroke, that ball became his ball in play under penalty of stroke and distance. He laid 3 with a 4-foot putt for his bogey 4. And you are now better versed in Rule 18.3.
For more provisional-ball guidance from our guru, read on …
My friend drives wide right. Presuming it is lost, he hits a provisional, which also goes far right. We eventually found both balls in-bounds. Problem: the balls were identical, and neither was marked, so we couldn’t determine which was the original and which was the provisional. He was advised to play the one further from the hole as his first ball, then take a two-stroke penalty at the end of the hole. Was that correct? – Bart Calvanese, Denver, Colo.
Rules Guy: Can you put a provisional back in play after accidentally picking it up?
Oh, what a tangled web we weave when we neglect to mark our golf balls differently.
Bart, when a player can’t distinguish between original and provisional, and both balls are found on the course, the player must choose one — either one — and treat it as the provisional, under Rule 18.3c(2).
Thus, your friend would have been taking his fourth stroke with the ball of his choosing. To anticipate the follow-up question, were one ball in bounds and the other OB, you’d play the in-bounds ball as the provisional.
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