Hello Linda,
I know you have covered lost ball in great detail but cannot
find a definitive answer to the following, which happened recently at our club
in a trophy match. One lady teed off and thought her ball had gone into the
bushes. She decided to play a provisional ball. The players went forward and
she hit the provisional ball again as she didn't want to look for her first
ball, but the second lady told her she must look for her lost ball. She said she
didn't have to and had decided to deem her provisional ball the ball in play. Her
partner said that as she had declared the second ball "provisional"
she would have to look for the first one.
As this is something which is not an uncommon, I would like
to know who was right.
Lulu from Kent, England
Dear Lulu,
The player was right. There is no requirement under the
provisional ball rule to search for the original ball.
Rule 27-2b allows the player to continue to hit a
provisional ball until she reaches the area where her original ball is likely
to be. At that point, she may stop
and search for the original. If she finds it, she must abandon the provisional
and continue play with the original. If she does not find it, she will continue
with the provisional under penalty of stroke and distance (count the original stroke, all strokes
with the provisional, and one penalty stroke).
The Rule clearly states that the player may stop and search. She is not
required to do so. If she hits the provisional ball from the area where her
original is likely to be, or from any spot closer to the hole, the original is
officially lost and the provisional automatically becomes her ball in play.
All of this information is clearly spelled out in Rule
27-2b. You might want to post that Rule on the bulletin board at your club, and
e-mail it to everyone in your group.
Perhaps I should also mention that anyone is entitled to search for the ball. If someone finds it
before the player’s provisional becomes the ball in play, the player must abandon
the provisional and continue play with the original.
Linda
Copyright © 2015 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
