Tommo21
Tour Winner
Yeh if you look for the first ball then fine. Thats not what I said though.
Declaring a ball lost?
- Thread starter Opengav
- Start date
Yeh if you look for the first ball then fine. Thats not what I said though.
Tommo21
Tour Winner
Yeh only if you go look for the first ball.
Colin L
Tour Winner
Sorry Tommo. You maybe feel that a player ought to look for his first ball, but you are wrong if you are saying that he is obliged to. There is no rule to say that and indeed there is a Decision which tells you that the player may play his provisional ball without looking for the original. 27-2b/1
http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Rules-of-Golf/Decision-27/#d27-2b-1
http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Rules-of-Golf/Decision-27/#d27-2b-1
Tommo21
Tour Winner
You would need some real pals to ingnore looking for the first one......Just as well saying the first ones lost, but only after hitting the good prov of course.
Foxholer
Blackballed
I wouldn't normally bother looking for my opponent's ball - except maybe cursorily - in these circumstances.
But I wouldn't be upset if my opponent did if the situation was reversed.
If it was the last hole in a team match I might take a different approach though.
But I wouldn't be upset if my opponent did if the situation was reversed.
If it was the last hole in a team match I might take a different approach though.
chrisd
Major Champion
I'm sure that we've all been in situations where a player knocks his first ball in deep doo doos, hits a provisional, then when walking down says that he's not going to look for his ball and therefore his playing partners don't look either. All we've pointed out is that the player can't stop his FC's from looking if the circumstances benefit them ie Matchplay etc. I'd especially look if I were playing a high handicapper in Matchplay, who accidentally hit a stonking provisional on a shot hole where my shot was less than good!
Why would you not use the rules of golf to help you, whether its you or your opponent who benefits or loses out, in a match?
chrisd
Major Champion
Most playing partners don't want to look for a lost ball, it's just what you have to do, so if a player says don't bother to look then we all breathe a sigh of relief and march on. Your post on this seems to suggest that everyone in a group are mates and will or won't look according to the players wishes, that clearly may often be right but on a rules forum we have to point out that may not always be the case and what the decisions on the rules mean in actual play
cookelad
Tour Winner
Personally I would always go and have a cursory glance at the area the ball disappeared into - you never know you might have had a lucky bounce and found a "reasonable" spot - but I'll often say to my playing partners that if we/I can't see it straight away to move on!
coolhand
Head Pro
Just want to check that I'm right in believing that you can "effectively" make a ball lost by playing your 3rd off the tee.
Ethan
Money List Winner
If you fail to properly declare a provisional, then the second ball you hit off the tee is in play as soon as you strike it and the first one is lost.
Val
Ryder Cup Winner
Correct, and it becomes the ball in play regardless of where it lands and this could be worse than the original
Ethan
Money List Winner
And people fail to properly declare a provisional all the time. 'Whoops, better reload' is certainly not good enough.
Playing devils advocate here.
If your 1st tee shot goes into the cabbage and from what I have read, you cannot "declare" a ball lost and as such your playing partners have the right to look for it, isn't then not declaring a provisional ball and then playing "3 off the tee", although taking the risk of where that drive may go, but, all the same putting that ball then in play immediately, isn't that a form of declaring the 1st ball as lost and as such removing the right of the opposition to look for it?
Isn't this a way around that rule although there is a slight risk with that 2nd drive?
If your 1st tee shot goes into the cabbage and from what I have read, you cannot "declare" a ball lost and as such your playing partners have the right to look for it, isn't then not declaring a provisional ball and then playing "3 off the tee", although taking the risk of where that drive may go, but, all the same putting that ball then in play immediately, isn't that a form of declaring the 1st ball as lost and as such removing the right of the opposition to look for it?
Isn't this a way around that rule although there is a slight risk with that 2nd drive?
Foxholer
Blackballed
To be absolutely correct, it's the ball in play as soon as you take a swing (make a stroke) at it.
Or as soon as it leaves your hand if dropping - when not from the tee.
bobmac
Major Champion
Exactly.
If I hit a shocker into the rubbish, I can declare "that ball is lost and this next ball is not a provisional"
Ethan
Money List Winner
Yep. If you hit one in the cabbage, tee up another and say 'Looks like 3 off the tee, better reload' or similar which falls short of declaring a provisional, you are immediately in play and it doesn't matter if you find the first one sitting up on a tee peg in the fairway or in the 9th circle of hell, it is lost either way.
Cheers Bob :thup:
Can you still look for it (as it was new) or is that waived due to it no longer being the ball in play.
Foxholer
Blackballed
I'd only do that if it was brand new and/or I was running out of ammo!
Try reading this Rule http://www.randa.org/en/Rules-and-Amateur-Status/Rules-of-Golf.aspx#/rules/?ruleNum=27
It's actually pretty simple!
27.1 Lost (or OOB)
27.2 Provisional Ball
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Colin L
Tour Winner
You can look for it as long as you do not delay play.
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