Linda - Wouldn't she have marked all her balls in the same unique way if she was going to mark her balls? So now what?
Lulu
Dear Lulu,
If a player is using balls with the same number, she should mark each one differently; if the balls have different numbers, she may mark them in the same manner. When I buy a new box of balls, I always rearrange them so that each box has three different numbers. That way I can mark each ball with my customary signature.
It’s not a bad idea to keep a couple of balls in your bag marked with a big “P” for “provisional.”
Something I probably should have mentioned in Ask Linda #86 is that when you hit a provisional, you should always announce what ball you are hitting, and how it can be distinguished from the original ball. And if you are playing in a group where a player is about to hit a provisional, if she neglects to announce her ball, don’t be shy about asking her to describe her provisional ball.
Finding two balls in the same area with no way to distinguish one from another is an avoidable predicament. An ounce of prevention (describing your provisional which you have marked differently from your original) is worth a pound of cure (hitting your fourth shot when it could have been your second).
Linda
Copyright © 2008 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
