Ask Linda #46-How many provisionals?

Linda,
I played in a tournament about 2 years ago and on the first tee a player sliced his drive into the woods. He promptly said he would hit a provisional, which also sliced into the woods. Again, he hit another provisional which was in the fairway. Upon searching the woods (and I don't remember if 5 minutes elapsed), he announced he found his first ball and played it to the hole without any penalty. Question, can you hit more than one provisional and, if so, is the scoring 2 strokes for each provisional if original ball is lost.
Thanks,
Lou Lou

Dear Lou Lou,
This question sounds a bit like the old tongue twister “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?”.

Here is your straightforward, no frills answer:

1. If you find your original ball within five minutes after you begin your search, you MUST play it. (Don’t forget to pick up the two provisionals – it sounds like there’s a good chance you will need them before you complete your round!)

2. If you do not find your original ball within five minutes (rendering it “lost”), and you find the first provisional ball, you must play that ball and it lies three. Your next shot will be your fourth.

3. If the only ball you are able to find is the second provisional, it lies five. Your next shot will be your sixth.

There is no limit to the number of provisional balls you are permitted to hit.

This is probably a good time to remind everyone to put a personal identification mark on each ball in your golf bag. If you carry several golf balls with the same brand and number, put a different mark on each ball; if the numbers are different, your mark on each ball can be the same.

When you are hitting a provisional, you should announce which ball you played first and which ball you are playing as a provisional. For example: “My original was a Titleist 2 with red and black dots; my provisional is a Titleist 3 with red and black dots” (same brand, same mark, different numbers). If you hit a second provisional, you might announce: “My second provisional is a Titleist 2 with three green dots” (same brand, same number, different marking).

Hit ‘em straight, all you Lou Lou’s out there; less math = more fun!

Linda

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