Linda,
Just discovered your excellent treasure trove of golf rules
q&a and thought I'd throw one at you that just happened in my foursome at Spanish
Bay. We were playing a stroke play game and one of our foursome hit what looked
like an OB ball to the right. Since we were new to the course we thought
"maybe" it cleared the junk and might be found. The player then hit a
properly identified provisional ball, which ended up on the left side of the
course. Here's where the fun begins...
Before going to search for his first ball he hit his
provisional a second time, advancing it nicely and safely down the course. Note
that that ball was still behind where the first ball was eventually found (or
"likely to be"). He declared that ball "still provisional" although
it wasn't clear to me that he needed to. Up to this point he had never made it
clear whether he intended to then go over and search for his first ball or not.
Two others of our group were in the left side as well and hit our second shots.
Right at that point our fourth playing partner yelled over that he had found
the original, possibly lost ball. I can't really say that anyone was conducting
a "search" or not at that point so I don't know how the 5-minute rule
applies to our situation.
At this point when his ball was found, the player abandoned
his provisional and played the hole to completion and without further incident
with his first ball.
Some of us were fuming about this given that we thought that
the player was not going to search for his ball but he never really said so.
Here are my questions about this:
1. Once your ball is declared provisional in the first
place, do you need to continue to declare it provisional on subsequent hits? (I
think the answer is no.)
2. Is it OK to hit a provisional a second time (or more)
before searching for your first ball? (Seems like it is as long as you don't hit
it from a spot closer to the hole than the likely spot where the first ball was
lost, you're ok.)
3. In terms of the "likely spot" part of this
equation, where would that be if the person may have hit the ball OB? Is it
where it may have crossed into OB terrain, or is it the full distance that the
ball is likely to be? (I'm guessing it's the full distance down the course, not
the spot where it may have crossed into the OB terrain.)
4. If anyone in the group starts looking for the ball, is
that the start time of the search? Even if the player whose ball is being searched
for is off hitting their provisional again?
5. Most importantly, how should we be handling the
communication in our group in case like this, especially when a player is going
to hit his provisional again before conducting (if he is going to conduct) a search?
Seems to me like there needs to have been a lot more said/announced among the
group of us than was actually done.
Thanks in advance.
Lou
Dear Lou,
I will answer your questions referring to the numbers you
used. However, I would like to preface my answers by mentioning that you did
everything right. Way to go, Lou!
1. There is no need to continually remind everyone that your
provisional ball is, indeed, a provisional ball. The Rule regarding provisional balls tells you when your
ball is no longer “provisional” and has become the “ball in play.” While
reminders are unnecessary, they are not prohibited. In the scenario you
describe, I suspect the golfer made the statement to remind everyone that he
was still playing that ball provisionally and was planning on looking for his
original.
2. You may hit your provisional as many times as necessary
to reach the place where your original is likely to be. If you hit your
provisional from that spot, or from a spot nearer the hole, it is now your
“ball in play.” Your original is now “lost” under the Rules [Rule 27-2b], and you no
longer have the option to play the original.
3. A player hits a provisional ball because he suspects his
original might be lost or out of bounds. He cannot gauge where it may have gone
OB until he reaches the area where he will begin his search. It would be unfair
and unreasonable for the Rules to require you to begin your search where your
ball crossed into OB territory, since that area is unknown to you. The “likely
spot” where you must stop hitting your provisional and begin searching for your
original is the spot where you are likely to find your ball.
4. The five-minute search period begins when the player reaches the area where his ball
is likely to be. If a fellow competitor finds the original ball while the
player is hitting his provisional, he has saved your group the five-minute
delay and has provided a classic example of the usefulness of the provisional
ball rule. Its purpose is to save time!
5. The communication in your group was fine. The player
properly announced and hit his provisional. He mentioned on his second shot
that he was still playing the ball provisionally, since he hadn’t reached the
area where he would begin his search. In the meantime, a fellow competitor
found the original ball and informed everyone of his discovery. Nothing more
needs to be said.
Let’s look at a scenario where the player’s second shot with
the provisional advances past the area where he would begin his search, and no
one has found his original. At this point, the player has two choices: (1) start
searching for his original ball, with a 5-minute limit on the search time; (2)
continue playing the provisional ball, which will officially become his ball in
play. If the player (or anyone else) finds the original in bounds before the player hits a third shot with his
provisional (which is now closer to the hole than where his original is likely
to be), the player must abandon the provisional and continue with the original.
Should that original turn out to be in an unplayable lie, if the player chooses
the unplayable relief option to return to where he hit his previous shot, he
may not continue with the provisional, even though it was hit from the very
same spot where he has opted to return. Remember that a provisional ball is hit
for a ball that may be lost or out of bounds. If the ball is neither lost nor out of bounds, you must abandon the
provisional and continue play of the hole with the original [Rule 27-2c].
Linda
Copyright © 2012 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
