Hi Linda,
In playing a medal competition [stroke play], my ball was
hit towards woods and potentially lost, so a provisional was played. My fellow
competitor identified my original ball in a bush, after I described the make
and the marking. He picked it up and replaced it. The provisional ball was
approximately level to where the original lay, so another competitor picked it
up, believing the original was found. I did not request him to do so, but by my
actions it seemed clear that I had found the original.
I hacked the ball out of the bush, only to find that the
ball was not mine. I had assumed my competitor had identified it properly. That
was my mistake. The original ball was lost.
My question is: Was I entitled to play the original
provisional ball, which my competitor had picked up, asking that he replace it?
Or should I have gone back to the tee? We decided that I should incur the two-shot
penalty for hitting the wrong ball, and should be allowed to play the replaced
provisional, meaning that the next stroke with the provisional was my sixth.
Was this correct?
Thank you
Lou from the UK
Dear Lou,
Yes. Well done.
In stroke play there is no penalty to anyone if a fellow
competitor lifts your ball [Rule 18-4]. The ball must be replaced by the player
who lifted the ball, you, or your partner [Rule 20-3a]. Since the original lie
of the provisional was known, the ball is placed on that spot, not dropped.
The provisional was your ball in play, since the original
was not found. The stroke count is:
1 – tee shot
2 & 3 – two-stroke penalty for hitting a wrong ball
4 & 5 – stroke and distance for provisional ball
Your next shot with the provisional ball, as you concluded,
is your sixth stroke on the hole.
Don’t be too hard on yourself for failing to identify the
ball in the bush. I suspect that most golfers have had the experience of
playing a wrong ball that a fellow competitor found and assured the player that
the ball was his. Try to make it a habit of always checking a ball before you
hit it. Large, distinctive identifying marks on the ball will help keep you
from hitting a wrong ball.
Linda
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