What happens in this golf scenario?

DarthVega said:
On reflection I think when he eventually picked up the ball its declaring technically unplayable as alex1975 has stated so the 11 stands and we can all get on with our lives:rofl:
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As soon as he put the 2nd ball into play (made a swing at it), the original ball is deemed lost - so picking it up/realising it was really his original, is irrelevant.

Here's a summary of the definition of 'Lost Ball' - not, there's nothing there about 'Declaring' it lost.

http://golf.about.com/cs/rulesofgolf/g/rules_lostball.htm
 
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Frankly I don't care what the technicalities are, the 11 should stand for the shear stupidity of not knowing what ball he was playing :rofl:
 
Learned a valuable lesson as why you should always pay with the same brand of ball and make with same markings on them I have about a dozen in my bag all marked the same that way I can never forget what ball I am playing
 
Foxholer said:
As soon as he put the 2nd ball into play (made a swing at it), the original ball is deemed lost - so picking it up/realising it was really his original, is irrelevant.

Here's a summary of the definition of 'Lost Ball' - not, there's nothing there about 'Declaring' it lost.

http://golf.about.com/cs/rulesofgolf/g/rules_lostball.htm
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The second ball becomes the ball in play when it is dropped NOT when you take a swing at it unless it is on the tee where it may be teed up.
 
beggsy said:
Learned a valuable lesson as why you should always pay with the same brand of ball and make with same markings on them I have about a dozen in my bag all marked the same that way I can never forget what ball I am playing
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What would happen if you played a provisional and it happened to be the same number as the original ball and it went in the same general direction?
 
Unlike some people I have something about me that it would never happen and generally if I play a prov it will be the ball I used on my last round as I always start a round with a brand new ball
 
CliveW said:
The second ball becomes the ball in play when it is dropped NOT when you take a swing at it unless it is on the tee where it may be teed up.
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Good point.

HawkeyeMS said:
Why would you play a provisional with the same number?
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Because all the balls in the sleeve you opened have the same number! One of my gripes with they way they are numbered. I'd prefer 3 sleeves of 4 numbered 1-4.

Did know a guy who marked one ball with glasses and a smile and another (provisional) with glasses and a scowl!
 
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rosecott said:
From personal experience - not me doing it - it can happen but I have no explanation as to why.
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it happens!

simple answer, if you cannot positively identify your ball (balls) then the ball is lost. Whilst it could be argued that the player has to go back and play 5 it has been ruled that the player must select one of the balls and proceed with that as if it was his provisional, and the origional is deemed lost.
 
Foxholer said:
Good point.



Because all the balls in the sleeve you opened have the same number! One of my gripes with they way they are numbered. I'd prefer 3 sleeves of 4 numbered 1-4.

Did know a guy who marked one ball with glasses and a smile and another (provisional) with glasses and a scowl!
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OK, so knowing that sleeves of balls all have the same number, why not mix them up before you go out? Maybe I'm a bit odd but whenever I buy a dozen balls I mark them all and then make sure each sleeve has 3 different numbers in so I always have a different number if required.

Knowing which ball you are playing is a fundamental, and might I add simple, part of the game. There is absolutely no reason to not know what ball you're playing and no good reason to have to play a provisional with the same number as the first.

Before I hit my first tee shot I'll always announce what ball I'm playing, what number it is and how it's marked. If I play a provisional I'll identify the number and re-state what number the original was. It really isn't that hard. Is it?
 
I don't have the problem. I can rarely get two balls within 100 yards of each other. We all know that if you hook a ball and decide to hit a provisional it is bound to fade/slice and leave the widest possible margin between the two points
 
On the question of balls with same number I simply mark one ball with 1 dot, another with 2 dots and the third with 3 dots.

Other thing from this thread is being aware of the definition of a "lost ball". Worth checking the actual definitions in the Rules for things like this as some are very specific.
 
Like many have said, the ball was "lost" because it was not identified as the player's within 5 mins. So player had to go back & play another. In addition, rule 27/1 says that a player may at any time under penalty of stoke & distance play another ball from where the original was last played. In either case, provided the 11 included the stroke & distance penalty then it stands.

As to numbered provisionals, I'm another one who empties a new box and re-parcels them to have 3 different numbers in a sleeve.
 
chrisd said:
I'm not the only saddo then!
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Obviously not...

What's worse, not only do they have to be different numbers, they have to be in the right order. Empty them all out, then put a 1-2-3 in the first sleeve, then 4-1-2; 3-4-1; 2-3-4. Now off to make sure my tees are all lined up in the same direction...
 
I just use a different colour of pen to mark mine !! It's not complicated, get to the tee and decide what colour I would like to play today and then mark it. If in the very odd occasion that I require a provisional then I just use a different colour. Simplz
 
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