Following on from the rules thread..

My understanding is that you can't declare a ball lost.

So your ball is in play until your provisional takes over.

i.e. you drive off and stick it in the woods, you call provisional and hit another down the middle. Now if you have a quick gander and can't find it, you can't just declare it lost because if your partner/opponent finds it you have to play it......unless you have played your provisional ball AGAIN past the point of where your first ball was lost. This will deem your provisional ball in play.

Think I'll duck under the desk if thats wrong.
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Correct but....if you don't say provisional then the ball is lost and the 3 off the tee become the ball in play immediately....
 
My understanding is that you can't declare a ball lost.

So your ball is in play until your provisional takes over.
Click to expand...
Ok, I'll stand corrected on that, although if I said my ball was lost and leave it to my playing partners, who then continue looking and find it stuck behind a tree I wouldn;t be best pleased.

I suppose in reality as soon as you say leave it, most people are only too keen to move on to their own ball so it rarely happens anyway.
 
Correct but....if you don't say provisional then the ball is lost and the 3 off the tee become the ball in play immediately....
Click to expand...
Just thinking about this...as has been posted on this forum in the past, there are quite a few golfing slang terms like a 'Sally Gunnell' for a runner etc. What if someone said they were playing a Gerry Adams instead of using the actual word 'provisional'? Could a real stickler take issue with that?
 
Correct but....if you don't say provisional then the ball is lost and the 3 off the tee become the ball in play immediately....
Click to expand...
Just thinking about this...as has been posted on this forum in the past, there are quite a few golfing slang terms like a 'Sally Gunnell' for a runner etc. What if someone said they were playing a Gerry Adams instead of using the actual word 'provisional'? Could a real stickler take issue with that?
Click to expand...

I supose a real stickler could take issue, as some people might not be familiar to the name Gerry Adams I think most would instantly know what you mean, though a bit politically incorrect is perhaps refering to a provisional as an IRA, but most would be familiar with that at least.

I've oft heard a provisional refered to as a provo' which is a shortening of the provisional monica & probably less liable to confusion or jobsworths, & can still have a bit of humour attatched.

It would be interesting to find out from the R&A whether whatever word is used to refer to a provisional ball is acceptable, so long as the meaning is clear or not. It wouldn't suprise me if there is already something in the desisions to the rules regarding this.
 
My understanding is that you can't declare a ball lost.

So your ball is in play until your provisional takes over.

i.e. you drive off and stick it in the woods, you call provisional and hit another down the middle. Now if you have a quick gander and can't find it, you can't just declare it lost because if your partner/opponent finds it you have to play it......unless you have played your provisional ball AGAIN past the point of where your first ball was lost. This will deem your provisional ball in play.

Think I'll duck under the desk if thats wrong.
Click to expand...

I believe this is spot on, but for my pedantic mind and clarification, do you have to hit the provisional again for it to be in play? What if you have nailed your provisional past the point that your original is found? You have passed the original, but not with another shot. Which is in play? I believe it to be the original - can anyone confirm I'm right?

Cheers! :D
 
From R&A Rules, Rule 27-2b:

"When Provisional Ball Becomes Ball in Play
The player may play a provisional ball until he reaches the place where the
original ball is likely to be. If he makes a stroke with the provisional ball from
the place where the original ball is likely to be or from a point nearer the
hole than that place, the original ball is lost and the provisional ball becomes
the ball in play under penalty of stroke and distance (Rule 27-1)."
 
Unless you have struck the provisional from a point nearer to the hole than the original, in which case the provisional is in play.
 
After reading the last umpteen posts, am I any clearer on this one, or just more confused. :D

I've ordered a great looking little spiral bound rule book that can stay in the golf bag. It looks like the idiots guide to the most used / applicable rules.

RuleBook.jpg
 
I take it we're refering to strokeplay formats here. In matchplay, I'd always have a good look for my opponents ball. And if I find it....
 
Ok so what happens when you have hit one way into the scrub and declared it lost as a) the chance of finding it are remote and b) the options on where to play or drop aren't appealing.

You have told your partners not to worry as it is a lost ball and one of them still goes in and manages to find it. Do you have to play it because it was found even though you had no intention of looking or is it declared lost because you never looked for it or had any intention of looking/playing it and had called it lost
 
If that was the case then you would have to play it, as the provisional(assuming it was played) is no longer in the equation.

Probably the last time you played with said partner ;)
 
Hence Bobmac's mention of "how fast can you run?" If I saw somebody heading for the woods to look for my ball that I didn't want found, I'd be smacking that provisional and moving on.
 
Indeed. DCB & Canfordhacker

Homer... if your playing partners found the ball before you played your shot with the provisional that is sitting out in the fairway (well we all hope that's where it is) then you have to play your first.

However imagine this one....

You drive off & hitg a glorious rising drive which unfortunatly decides that its exiting the fairway & heading towards the rough stuff & the tree, but its otherwise the drive of your life. You decide to play a provisional from the tee, but duff this, then you duff the next one & then catch one clean & you know you hit it past the point where your first will be but not hit from the point past where you first must be.

With me so far...?

Ok you are now walking forward towards your provisional ball, but catch a glint of something white out the corner of your eye & wonder "Is that my first". You walk over & find the ball, realise it is indeed your first. Well now all your shots or should I say duffs, are now not counted & you now find yourself actually hitting your first ball for your second official shot on the hole.

However if you hadn't seen this glint & you'd walked past your first without finding it & then played your provisional again just a fraction of a second before your partner finds your first then its the provisional in play.


Any clearer..? If not, read again or look up the R&A webb site.
 
I always look for balls. I hate loosing them, and so would rather find it, no matter what the problems that may arise. I assume everyone else is the same, so I always have a look.
Besides, I love watching people play creative shots out of the jungle. It keeps me amused.
 
Cernunnos - I had something close to this three weeks ago. Carved my drive on the 10th into the rough but a long way up. Duffed my provisional, then duffed it again. I was 120 away on a short par 4 playing 5 and hoping to score a double at best. Found the original, sand wedged it to 5 feet and holed the putt for a birdie. It does pay to look sometimes!
 
Cernunnos - I had something close to this three weeks ago. Carved my drive on the 10th into the rough but a long way up. Duffed my provisional, then duffed it again. I was 120 away on a short par 4 playing 5 and hoping to score a double at best. Found the original, sand wedged it to 5 feet and holed the putt for a birdie. It does pay to look sometimes!
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And this is my point & the use of a Provisional, knowing you still have the option to bring the first back into play, when you are close enough to look for it.

BTW I too hate loosing balls & will always look if I can.
 
I always look for balls. I hate loosing them, and so would rather find it, no matter what the problems that may arise. I assume everyone else is the same, so I always have a look.
Besides, I love watching people play creative shots out of the jungle. It keeps me amused.
Click to expand...

Trust me, he does, had the time of his life down at Princess! He went after nearly all of my balls as they sailed into the crap.
 
I always look for balls. I hate loosing them, and so would rather find it, no matter what the problems that may arise. I assume everyone else is the same, so I always have a look.
Besides, I love watching people play creative shots out of the jungle. It keeps me amused.
Click to expand...

Trust me, he does, had the time of his life down at Princess! He went after nearly all of my balls as they sailed into the crap.
Click to expand...

He must be part Yorkshire terrier :eek: :eek: :D
 
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