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Provisional Tee Shots

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Mattyj3nks

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Afternoon all,

I am fairly new to golf and have planned a weekend away next month for my brothers stag do. There are 8 of us.
I am just putting together a course guide for them all and explaining how we will be scoring to make it competitive for us all as not everyone has an official handicap.

I am also putting some rules together as most of the lads are just social golfers while one of the guys is a club member and very strict on the rules.

We are playing both of the courses at The Nottinghamshire Golf Club where there is alot of water.
I am just wondering what is the rule about playing provisional shots off the tee etc.........

I just want to put something in the rules about this so both 4 balls are playing the same.

Any help would be much appreciated

Thanks
 
Mattyj3nks said:
Afternoon all,

I am fairly new to golf and have planned a weekend away next month for my brothers stag do. There are 8 of us.
I am just putting together a course guide for them all and explaining how we will be scoring to make it competitive for us all as not everyone has an official handicap.

I am also putting some rules together as most of the lads are just social golfers while one of the guys is a club member and very strict on the rules.

We are playing both of the courses at The Nottinghamshire Golf Club where there is alot of water.
I am just wondering what is the rule about playing provisional shots off the tee etc.........

I just want to put something in the rules about this so both 4 balls are playing the same.

Any help would be much appreciated

Thanks
Click to expand...

You don'y have to play a prov if you are in a water hazzard, just drop under penalty where the ball crossed.

simples
 
Provisional Balls are for where the 1st may be Lost or Out of Bounds. Except in extremely rare cases ( covered by Local Rule) they are not for where the ball may be in a water hazard.

Playing a Provisional Ball is an admission that you are not certain that the 1st ball is in the water, so you cannot then claim that it is 'known or virtually certain' to be in the water and must proceed as if it was lost - the Provisional becomes the ball in play!

There is a 'play 2 balls' option that covers situation where correct action is not certain. But that is a bit complicated and requires certain process to be followed. It could be worthwhile to provide a big print version of that rule 'just in case', but best to ensure each group has a copy of The Rules with them.

Don't get too finicky though! It's a round of golf with mates, not a playoff for The Open!

patricks148 said:
You don'y have to play a prov if you are in a water hazzard, just drop under penalty where the ball crossed.

simples
Click to expand...

Er...Not quite/so simple actually! There are certainly frequent instances where this is the wrong place to drop! And there's more latitude than simply having to drop it there too!
 
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I have got a copy of the scorecard where we are playing and this is the rule it gives....

If there is doubt whether a ball is in or lost in the water hazard the player may play another ball provisionally under any of the applicable options in rule 26-1.
If the original ball is found outside the water hazard the player must continue play with it.
If the original ball is found in the water hazard the player may either play the original ball as it lies or continue with the ball played provisionally.
If the original ball is not found with the five minutes search period the player must continue with the ball played provisionally.

You say you dont need to play a provisional, im just confused because of what the scorecard says.
I just want to know so i can tell everyone as i know the one club player will probably start telling people something different.

Any help much appreciated....
 
Mattyj3nks said:
I have got a copy of the scorecard where we are playing and this is the rule it gives....

If the original ball is found in the water hazard the player may either play the original ball as it lies or continue with the ball played provisionally.

...
Click to expand...

this local rule is contrary to the rules so will be source of much confusion!
 
Mattyj3nks said:
I have got a copy of the scorecard where we are playing and this is the rule it gives....

If there is doubt whether a ball is in or lost in the water hazard the player may play another ball provisionally under any of the applicable options in rule 26-1.
If the original ball is found outside the water hazard the player must continue play with it.
If the original ball is found in the water hazard the player may either play the original ball as it lies or continue with the ball played provisionally.
If the original ball is not found with the five minutes search period the player must continue with the ball played provisionally.

You say you dont need to play a provisional, im just confused because of what the scorecard says.
I just want to know so i can tell everyone as i know the one club player will probably start telling people something different.

Any help much appreciated....
Click to expand...

This appears to be one of those rare cases I mentioned! From memory, it's the same wording as the (R&A approved apparently) one I've experienced - at the lovely Thorndon Park, covering their 3rd hole. It would normally only be applicable to a particular hole(s) and for pace of play reasons - normally where you are playing over the hazard and the time to return to play the ball under penalty is deemed excessive. Where you are playing down to the hazard, there is not normally a reason tho have that sort of rule.

However, conforming/approved or not, unless it's a tournament simply being run at the course, if that is a Local Rule, that is what you must play.
 
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I think those rules are basically saying, if you think it "May" have gone in the water, hit a provisional. if you KNOW it has gone in, carry on with dropping at the relevant place.
 
What would you suggest doing then if a ball is put into the water off the tee then?

If you know it has then where would you drop if its gone into the middle of the hazard?
 
I understand that if your 2nd shot is put into a water then you would drop at the side of the water no closer to the hole than where is entered.

But what do you do if you are playing over water from the tee and the ball ends up in the water, or if you are playing along side the water hazard and the ball ends up in the water??


If aiming over would you just go again off the tee for the 3rd shot?

If playing along side of the water would you just drop where the water went in and play your 3rd shot from there?


Please can someone confirm asap as i am trying to write up a guide for the players and the course has a few water hazards which run alongside the holes and some you have to play over!
 
like i said in my first reply, if you know its gone in the water just drop where it crossed the hazzard marking under penalty. its not to the letter of the law, but a start.

Im sure Foxholer will be along in a moment and say that's wrong and cut and paste something from the R&A website after googling the question;)
 
patricks148 said:
like i said in my first reply, if you know its gone in the water just drop where it crossed the hazzard marking under penalty. its not to the letter of the law, but a start.

Im sure Foxholer will be along in a moment and say that's wrong and cut and paste something from the R&A website after googling the question;)
Click to expand...

Every time I see patricks148 I'm thinking he'll be along in a moment with an invite :whistle:
 
That Local Rule is an approved LR for certain situations,

So all the OP needs to do is point it out to all concerned and everybody should know what they are allowed to do.

@Patrick148 Oh dear, dear boy! If you actually had a less dangerous knowledge of The Rules - by actually looking them up (no need for google, theres a couple of links below - your replies would be rather less contemptuous. As it is, your errors are the sort that breed the myths we eventually all laugh at.

USGA - easiest to simply scroll http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Rules-of-Golf/Rule-01/
R&A - better than USGA if you need to 'search' http://www.randa.org/en/Rules-and-Amateur-Status/Rules-of-Golf.aspx#/rules/
 
Ah , the old is it lost in hazard question, if the ball was seen to cross the line of the water hazard [ no splash need be seen ] and cannot be found it is lost within the bounds of the w/hazard , so drop at point of entry.

PS. Patrick we are still awaiting the invite too.:whistle:
 
williamalex1 said:
Ah , the old is it lost in hazard question, if the ball was seen to cross the line of the water hazard [ no splash need be seen ] and cannot be found it is lost within the bounds of the w/hazard , so drop at point of entry.
Click to expand...

Again, close but sufficiently wrong that it could mean a DQ in a comp!

And the Rule is less restrictive too!
 
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