Linda,
If a player hits a ball and it looks like it's out of
bounds, then he hits a provisional ball, gets up there and finds his original
ball on the course, doesn't find his provisional ball, does he incur a penalty
stroke for not finding his provisional ball?
Dear Lou,
No. The provisional ball does not become the “ball in play”
unless the player’s original ball is lost or out of bounds. Since this player
found his original ball on the course, the provisional was never in play and must
be abandoned. There is no penalty for losing a ball that was never in play. Nor
is there any obligation to search for it.
Linda
Copyright © 2015 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.