Ask Linda #33 - lost ball; provisional ball

Dear Linda,
While trying to cut the corner of a dogleg, my ball nicked a branch and it was thought to have deflected off the branch, across the fairway, and into a wooded area. After searching for 3 minutes or 5 minutes I decided to hit a provisional ball. The search concluded and the provisional ball was played. As we advanced toward the green my original ball was spotted right in the middle of the fairway. It was 50 yards past the area we had searched and 50 yards beyond the location of my provisional tee shot. At this point which ball is in play?
Lou Lou


Dear Lou Lou,

First, allow me to compliment you on your creative spelling of “Lulu.” This is a wonderful solution to my dilemma of wondering whether men would be uncomfortable being referred to as “Lulu.” Henceforth, women questioners will be Lulu and men will be Lou Lou.

Your question raises several issues, so please be patient while I address them all. Let’s begin with a look into what exactly is a provisional ball (Rule 27-2). You may hit a provisional ball for a ball that may be lost or out of bounds. However, if you are going to hit a provisional ball, you must hit it before you go forward and search for your possibly lost or out of bounds ball. Once you move ahead and start searching, you may not go back to hit a provisional. In your case, since you did not hit a provisional right away, then when you could not find your ball and you went back to the spot where you had hit the previous ball and you hit another ball, that ball became the ball in play, and you must add a one stroke penalty to your score (Rule 27-2a). The fact that you later found your original ball is irrelevant. The new ball you hit is the ball that now counts; the old (original) ball that you found gets tossed into your golf bag.

Now let’s take a look at this searching business. It makes a big difference whether you were searching for 3 minutes or 5, so we will have to look at both situations. I’ll start with the easy one. Once you have searched for 5 minutes, your ball is officially lost (Definition of Lost Ball). If it is found after 5 minutes have elapsed, you may not play it ¬– you must return to where you hit your previous shot and hit another ball (adding a one stroke penalty).

If you search for your ball for 3 minutes, give up, start walking back to put another ball into play, and your friends find your ball before 5 minutes have elapsed, and before you have put another ball into play, then you must go forward and play your original ball. You must always play your original ball if it is found within 5 minutes and it is not out of bounds.

To sum up, (1) if you think your ball might be lost or out of bounds, hit a second ball as a provisional before you go forward to search. (2) If you search for a ball for 5 minutes and do not find it, it is a lost ball regardless of whether someone finds it later. Hit another ball from where you hit your previous shot and add a one stroke penalty to your score (this is commonly referred to as “stroke and distance”).

Suppose for a moment that you had correctly hit a provisional ball from the tee because you thought you would have trouble finding your first shot (and you should always do this, as it saves both time and aggravation). Here is the new scenario in proper sequence: First shot may be lost. Hit a provisional immediately (don’t forget to announce that it is a provisional). Go forward to search. Search for 3 minutes and give up (remember it’s officially lost after 5 minutes). Hit a second shot with your provisional. Find your original ball 50 yards ahead (always a pleasant surprise). Now you must abandon your provisional and play the hole with your original ball. Do not count any strokes or penalties incurred while you were playing the provisional ball. There are two reasons why you are now permitted to continue with the original ball: (1) you did not search for more than 5 minutes; and (2) you did not hit the provisional ball from a place that was nearer the hole than your original ball (Rule 27-2b).

Linda

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