Ask Linda #139-Provisional problems

Hi Linda,
I really enjoy your rules in plain English. The rule book can be so confusing. Here's my question. I was playing in a tournament with 3 other ladies. We all hit our drives. "Jane" hit hers left but well within bounds and no one thought we would have a problem finding it. After 5 minutes (possibly a bit more) of searching we could not find it and “Jane” went back to the tee box to hit a provisional ball while we continued searching. After hitting the provisional which went further than the original drive (if that's important) she found her original ball, played it and abandoned the provisional.
In the rule book it says "Jane" had to hit a provisional BEFORE we went to look for it. So, does that mean that "Jane" had to abandon her original ball and continue with the provisional? It looks like rule 27-2c says that if the original ball is not lost, the player must continue with the original.
Thanks for your help,
Lulu

Dear Lulu,

What an excellent question! This is indeed a confusing situation, and I will try to clear it up as best I can. You have actually touched on several topics, so I will separate them and deal with them individually.

Provisional ball
In order for a ball to be considered “provisional,” it must be hit before the player goes forward to search for her ball. In the situation you describe, since Jane did not hit a provisional ball before the search party went out, she was not entitled to hit a provisional. As soon as she returned to the tee and hit another ball, that ball became the ball in play, and was her third shot on the hole (original tee shot + one-stroke penalty for lost ball + second tee shot = 3, Rule 27-1a).

This procedure of returning to where you hit your original ball and hitting another ball under penalty of one stroke is known as “stroke and distance.”

Lost ball
A player is not entitled to search for her ball forever. There is a five-minute limit on the search. If the ball is not found within that time period, it is “lost” under the rules (even if is later “found” in real life), and the player must proceed under “stroke and distance.” (If you’ve forgotten what that means, go back and study my explanation above under “Provisional ball.”)

Lulu, you explained that everyone searched for five minutes, or perhaps a bit more. It seems clear to me that Jane’s ball was not found within five minutes: five-minute search + walk back to the tee + hit another ball, then find the original = more than five minutes. Jane’s ball was lost (Rule 27-1c; Definition of Lost Ball).

Provisional ball explained further
It is not relevant that the second ball hit from the tee went further than the original, since Jane’s original ball was “lost” and she did not hit a provisional under the rules.

However, there is an issue with regard to how far the provisional ball is hit that I would like to clarify for everyone. Let’s tinker with your scenario and see what happens if Jane plays a provisional ball correctly:

1. Jane hits her tee shot. She has a vague suspicion she might not find it, so she says: “I think I’d better hit a provisional ball, just in case.” Jane waits for everyone else to tee off, and then hits her provisional.
2. Jane believes she hit her original ball a good deal further than her provisional, so when she reaches her provisional she hits it a second time. (Note that if Jane thought she had hit her provisional about the same distance or further than her original ball, she would have to search for her original before hitting the provisional a second time. If she did not search first, her provisional would become the ball in play and the original ball would be deemed lost, even if she found it.)
3. Jane’s provisional has now been hit twice, and is well past where her original ball is likely to be. (We’re good so far, because you will remember that in our imaginary scenario Jane’s provisional was not hit as far as her original.) Jane reaches the area where she believes she hit her original, and the search begins. Now is when you start the timer. Jane has five minutes to find her original. If she finds it within that time frame, she must abandon the provisional and play the original. This is very important. The purpose of hitting a provisional ball is to have a ball available to continue with if you cannot find the original or you find it out of bounds – the reason is to save you the long walk back and save everyone else having to wait for you to do this. If you find the original ball in bounds within five minutes, you must proceed with that original ball (Rule 27-2c). If you do not find the original within five minutes, you must proceed with the provisional. (Note that if the original turns out to be in a lie that you decide is unplayable, then you will proceed under the options for an unplayable ball; you may not pick up the original and continue on with the provisional, even though you may really really want to.)

Summary
I know this is a lot to absorb in one sitting, Lulu, so here’s a summary that includes the rule references: Jane’s ball is lost because it took more than five minutes to find it (27-1c). Jane may not return to the tee to hit a provisional; she would have had to hit another ball from the tee before marching off to look for the original for it to be considered a provisional (27-2a). Even though Jane’s ball was not “lost” in the real world (the ball was eventually found), it was “lost” in the golf world (where you have a five-minute time limit to search), and she was required to return to the tee to hit another ball and add a one-stroke penalty to her score (27-1c). This second ball that she hits from the tee is not a provisional ball; it is now her ball in play (27-1a). When her original ball is later found, it is still technically “lost,” and she should pocket it (or feed it to the fish). If her original ball had been found within five minutes, she would have been required to play it; in that case, if she had correctly played a provisional (which we now know she did not), she would have had to abandon it and continue with the original (27-2c).

Linda

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