I will include a few questions along the way to make this blog post about the provisional ball an easy and useful read – with all the essential rules you need on the golf course.
Question 1: In stroke play, when is the correct time to play a provisional ball from the tee for a ball that may be lost or out of bounds?
a) Immediately after playing the original ball.
b) In order of play, after fellow-competitors have played their first strokes.
c) After a brief search for the original ball.
d) Any of the above, as there is no penalty for playing out of turn.
Answer: d) Any of the above. There is no penalty for playing out of turn in stroke play if it is done by agreement to save time. The only requirement is that the player clearly announces they are playing a provisional ball before making the stroke (Rule 18.3a).
—
Question 2: A golfer may always play a provisional ball if they think their original ball may be lost. True or False?
Answer: False. A provisional ball is only allowed if the original ball may be lost outside a penalty area or may be out of bounds. If the ball is likely in a penalty area, you are not allowed to play a provisional ball (Rule 18.3a).
—
Question 3: After briefly searching for their ball, a player asks fellow-competitors to continue the search while they return to the tee to play a provisional ball. After they have played this ball, the original ball is found in a tree, within the 3-minute search time. Must the original ball now be played? True or False?
Answer: False. A provisional ball must be played before the player goes forward a significant distance (around 50 yards) to search for the original ball. In this case, because the player went forward to search and then returned to play from the tee, that second ball is not a provisional – it is the ball in play under stroke-and-distance. The original ball is now treated as lost (Rule 18.3a).
—
Question 4: A player may not play a second provisional ball even if their first provisional ball may also be lost or out of bounds. True or False?
Answer: False. A player may play a second provisional ball if the first provisional ball may also be lost outside a penalty area or out of bounds. Each provisional has the same relationship to the previous ball as the first provisional has to the original ball (Rule 18.3c).
—
Question 5: The original ball is found just in bounds but unplayable high in a tree. The player had played a provisional ball “to save time”. May the player now continue with the provisional ball? True or False?
Answer: False. Once the original ball is found in bounds within the 3-minute search time, the provisional ball is no longer in play and must be discarded. The player must take unplayable ball relief with the original ball (Rule 18.3c(3)).
—
Question 6: On the tee, a player thinks they may have hit their ball out of bounds and says, “That may be over the line, I’ll play another” and plays another ball. The second ball is now the ball in play, lying 3. True or False?
Answer: True, if the player did not clearly say “provisional ball”. To play a provisional, the player must announce it as a provisional ball before the stroke. If they just say “I’ll play another”, that second ball becomes the ball in play under stroke-and-distance, lying 3 (Rule 18.3b).
—
Question 7: A player thinks their first ball may be lost in a gorse bush, so they play a provisional ball, which finishes 12 inches from the hole. They decide not to search for the original ball and also ask their fellow-competitors not to search. They do not have to look for the original ball. True or False?
Answer: True – but with one important condition. The player may choose not to search and may ask others not to search. However, if the original ball is found within the 3-minute search time before the player makes another stroke with the provisional ball from nearer the hole, the original ball remains the ball in play and the provisional must be abandoned (Rule 18.3c(2)).
I can highly recommend a gentleman named Barry Rhodes, who sends out regular newsletters about the Rules of Golf. If you invest 5 minutes a week reading them, your rules knowledge will improve a lot. He does a great job explaining tricky situations in simple language.
