So this was an interesting one...
On the first tee, one player hit his ball way left, over some trees and onto the 18th hole. I'm not sure if he announced that was hitting a provisional or not, but he hit another ball, landing in the fairway. My tee shot also went left, but not as far as his. From my ball, I saw another ball, which could have been his first one. It was considerably further than his second ball. I was going to tell him about it, but he was about to hit his next (fourth) shot. It would have been rude for me to interrupt him about to hit the ball.
Per rule 27-2b, the provisional ball becomes the ball in play once he reaches the point where the original ball is likely to be. But since his first drive was longer, he hadn't reached that point. So I told him about the ball after his shot. I'm pretty certain that even after playing a second shot with his provisional ball, he could have gone to his original ball and legitimately played a second shot per decision 27-2b/3.
He didn't bother. He never identified the ball that I had found. So I think he was fine playing his fourth stroke from the fairway and abandoning the first ball. That ball was abandoned when he played the next shot with his (formerly) provisional. That shot was a chip from just off the green. He then two-putted for what I would say was a 7. I have no idea what he wrote down.
I believe If you are playing in a competition any opponent or fellow competitor has the right to search for another's ball. If a ball is found the player is required to identify it. If however they have already played the provisional ball from a point closer to the hole then where the first ball was expected to be, the provisional becomes the ball in play.
ReplyDeleteBtw, refusal to identify a ball is grounds for disqualification, not just a stroke penalty.
ReplyDeleteHere's an interesting ruling.
ReplyDelete27-2c/3
Provisional Ball Played from Point Nearer Hole Than Original Ball Because Player Erroneously Thought Original Ball, Which Was Visible, Was Out of Bounds
Q. A player’s ball came to rest 20 yards over a green and beyond a white stake which the player’s caddie said was a boundary stake. The player played a provisional ball which came to rest short of the green, but closer to the hole than his original ball. The player played the provisional ball onto the green. At that point, he walked behind the green towards his original ball, which had been visible all along, and discovered that the white stake was not a boundary stake and that his original ball was in bounds. What is the ruling?
A. The player should have determined the status of his original ball before playing a second stroke with the provisional ball and, since the original ball was not out of bounds, he should have abandoned the provisional ball. When he failed to do so, the second stroke with the provisional ball was a stroke with a wrong ball – Rule 27-2c.
In match play, the player lost the hole (Rule 15-3a).
In stroke play, he incurred a two-stroke penalty (Rule 15-3b) and was required to hole out with the original ball.
All other rulings in this area state as soon as a player plays a provisional ball closer to the pin then the original ball is believed to be, it becomes the ball in play. In this case an original ball is played and seen to come to rest beyond white stakes, which the players caddies says are boundary stakes and therefore OB. The only reason I can think this was ruled as it was is because the player announced he would be playing a provisional which IMO implies the player is not sure about the stakes. Since the ball is visible I guess the player is required to ascertain the status of that ball and identify it before playing the provisional closer to the hole.
I still find it weird, it seems once the provisional was played closer to the hole that was it. In fact playing closer to the hole to me would indicate the player has declared the first one OB.