Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2011 - 18

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MINNESOTAGOLFER Directory 2011
Here is a case to consider:
Player A drives his tee ball into the right
rough, near out of bounds stakes. He plays
a provisional ball and hits it left of the
fairway, where it hits a tree and drops into
more rough. He moves forward to look
for his second, or provisional, ball, while
his playing partners, Players B and C, go
right to fi nd his original ball. B and C can't
fi nd the original, and A has no luck with
his provisional. So Player A returns to the
tee and hits a third ball, which goes left,
strikes the same tree as his provisional ball
and drops in the rough.
Step 1: When the original ball (Ball
1) is feared lost, Player A hits a provisional
ball (Ball 2) without looking
for the fi rst.
Step 2: Player A also loses Ball 2 and
returns to the tee to hit Ball 3.
Step 3: Players B and C look for Ball
1 and can't fi nd it.
Step 4: Player B fi nds Balls 2 and 3
across the fairway.
Step 5: Player A decides to look for
the original ball and fi nds it.
Outcome: Ball 1 was found in play
before the fi ve-minute search time
was up, so it remains the ball in play.
A
2
B C
M
ost golfers know that when
invoking a provisional ball
(according to Rule 27) after
their fi rst shot is presumed lost or out of
bounds (the only times you can use it),
they must fi rst say " provisional. " But when
does a provisional ball become the ball in
play, and when should it be abandoned?
Player B sees where the third ball lands
and goes across the fairway to fi nd it, locating
both the third and second ball near
each other. When Player A discovers this,
he walks across the fairway, searches for his
original ball and fi nds it in bounds. Not
sure of which ball to play, he plays the fi rst
ball in (scoring a par 4) as well as the third
ball (fi rst declaring he would play a second
ball under Rule 33: Doubt as to Procedure)
and makes a 9 with it.
Which score does he legally record?
If you said the 4 scored with the original
ball, you'd be right. Here's why, according
to MGA tournament director Doug Hoffmann:
Until Player A begins searching
for his original ball, the fi ve minute clock
for fi nding that ball does not start. " Even
though Player A has spent time searching
for his provisional ball (and even went
back to play another), he had never begun
searching for his original ball, " Hoffmann
WHICH BALL IS IN PLAY?
Ball 2 (provisional)
4
Ball 3
3
5
Ball 1
1
(Qschool
)
Little Ball Lost
Playing a provisional for a lost ball saves
time; knowing the Rules can save strokes.
By Joseph Oberle
( Rules Primer
www.mngolf.org
http://www.lasvegasgolfing.com http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2011

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