Ball OB that comes back

[apj0524]

Match Play knockout last night BB one of our opponents slices his drive off the 14th Tee and we all watch it sail over the trees and hedge OB onto the 9th faraway or bridle path he then plays a provisional that is also a little left. We walk to look for his provisional and he spots his first ball that has been thrown back, can it be played?

 

[Wabinez]

I believe 9.6 covers this.

The ball should be replaced if it is known or virtually certain that it has been thrown back by an outside influence. As it is OB, then it’s back to the tee.

You have to be certain though...if you can’t, it is considered natural force and it is in play

 

[User20204]

There are a few rules experts on here and I'm not one of them but unless you actually seen it being thrown back, I'd suggest the ball is in play.

 

[Old Skier]

Match Play knockout last night BB one of our opponents slices his drive off the 14th Tee and we all watch it sail over the trees and hedge OB onto the 9th faraway or bridle path he then plays a provisional that is also a little left. We walk to look for his provisional and he spots his first ball that has been thrown back, can it be played?

If you were certain it went out of bounds why were you looking for a provisional?
Was the original thrown back?

 

[louise_a]

it could have hit anything and bounced back!

 

[apj0524]

If you were certain it went out of bounds why were you looking for a provisional?
Was the original thrown back?

Looking for the provisional because it went right in the rough close to OB but not OB

Nothing to hit no noise so must have been thrown back

 

[rulefan]

Unless you know or are virtually certain that someone threw the ball onto the course then simply play it as it lies.
Otherwise back to the tee.

 

[duncan mackie]

Unless you know or are virtually certain that someone threw the ball onto the course then simply play it as it lies.
Otherwise back to the tee again if the provisional is also lost, or OOB.

I believe you meant to post 🤔

 

[rulefan]

 

[Colin L]

Match Play knockout last night BB one of our opponents slices his drive off the 14th Tee and we all watch it sail over the trees and hedge OB onto the 9th faraway or bridle path he then plays a provisional that is also a little left. We walk to look for his provisional and he spots his first ball that has been thrown back, can it be played?

I take it he is left handed?

 

[jim8flog]

Nothing to hit no noise so must have been thrown back

What about the ground or a OB post.

I have seen many an 'odd' bounce when a ball hits the ground

 

[Wolf]

Looking for the provisional because it went right in the rough close to OB but not OB

Nothing to hit no noise so must have been thrown back

Unless you can categorically say you saw it be thrown back it doesn't matter what you think you know. Play as it lies I say ball in bounds.

 

[Orikoru]

There are a few rules experts on here and I'm not one of them but unless you actually seen it being thrown back, I'd suggest the ball is in play.

I'd say this. If you didn't witness it being 'thrown' back it could have easily hit a tree or even a stone and bounced back across naturally? So it's in play.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

On a nearby course I once hoiked a ball badly OOB, it hit a road stop sign at a junction, the pole holding the sign, and came back onto the course and into the middle of the fairway. The look on my PP face was a picture. Had we not seen it happen we would have thought it had been thrown back. It was a good lesson, and very funny.

 

[badgergm]

If he declared a provisional then surely that admits the possibility that could have hit something and come back in bounds? i.e. sufficient certainty on it being thrown back isn;t there. If player was so certain that it couldn't possibly be anywhere but OOB then wouldn't have declared it provisional.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

If he declared a provisional then surely that admits the possibility that could have hit something and come back in bounds? i.e. sufficient certainty on it being thrown back isn;t there. If player was so certain that it couldn't possibly be anywhere but OOB then wouldn't have declared it provisional.

Indeed - if he had been 100% certain it had gone OoB then he needn't have bothered hitting a provisional - a new ball in play would be the order of the day. Like many on here I have seen some pretty remarkable returns in bounds by balls flying OoB - and sometimes these returns have gone unnoticed until we find the ball sitting most unexpectedly in the middle of the fairway or some such place.

 

[cliveb]

This reminds me of an incident about a year ago. One of the players in my group sliced his drive OB - onto an adjacent golf course as it happens.
He played a second ball, then when we were down the fairway, a golfer on the other course shouted to us "I'm throwing your ball back", and sure enough back it came over the hedge. The player then declared "that's in play", and was expecting to carry on as if it had hit a tree and bounced back in bounds!!!
I was unable to persuade him that he couldn't do that, and in the end the only way to carry on was to suggest he play the hole out with two balls and ask for a ruling afterwards.
It beggars belief what some people think about the rules, and worries me that in our regular medals there are fourballs out there with not one of the players having a clue.

 

[chrisd]

It beggars belief what some people think about the rules, and worries me that in our regular medals there are fourballs out there with not one of the players having a clue.

Spot on Clive, I just wonder whether players should pass a basic rules test when joining a club and before they play in comps

 

[rulefan]

Spot on Clive, I just wonder whether players should pass a basic rules test when joining a club and before they play in comps

In certain countries in Europe they are - sometimes before they can even step foot on the course

 

[chrisd]

If he declared a provisional then surely that admits the possibility that could have hit something and come back in bounds? i.e. sufficient certainty on it being thrown back isn;t there. If player was so certain that it couldn't possibly be anywhere but OOB then wouldn't have declared it provisional.

We've pretty much all found a ball that we thought would be lost oob I guess, and I usually would declare a provisional just in case its found