Hi there,
My question has to do with playing a Provisional Ball.
If I strike a Provisional Ball off the Tee Box and I do not
find my original ball down the Fairway, can I advance the Provisional Ball? And
by doing so, is the original ball deemed as lost?
Assuming that I advance my Provisional Ball but then I find
my original ball, can I now elect to play my original ball and abandon my
Provisional Ball?
Thank you,
Lou from Barbados
Dear Lou,
You may continue to hit your provisional ball until you
reach the area where your original is likely to be. At that point you should
search for your original. If you hit the provisional from this area, or from a
spot closer to the hole than this area, your provisional ball becomes the ball
in play and your original is deemed lost [Rule 27-2b].
Please remember that it is not how far you have hit your
provisional that makes it the ball in play – it is where you hit it from in
relation to the likely location of your original ball. As long as you are still
behind the area where your original is likely to be, you may continue hitting
the provisional ball.
Linda
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