Ball out of sight: how to play a provisional properly

Taking another ball from the bag is easy; deciding what to do with two balls takes more thought. This guide follows three practical questions: how to announce a provisional, what to check during the search and what score to record. Start with the decision before the second shot.

You may play a provisional when the original might be lost outside a penalty area or out of bounds. If the only uncertainty concerns a penalty area, the ordinary provisional-ball rule does not apply. If the ball might be lost either inside or outside that area, a provisional is allowed.

Before the stroke, say: “I am playing a provisional.” Simply saying you will hit another is not enough. Nor can you declare the original lost just because you prefer the replacement. The three-minute search period starts when you or your caddie begins searching, not when you hit the shot.

When replaying a fairway shot, you need not find the exact divot. In GolfMagic’s Q&A, England Golf rules manager Sam Barker-Sabido explains that the drop must be within one club-length of the previous spot, in the same course area and no nearer the hole. It is an area, not a single point.

If a ball might be yours but cannot be identified where it lies, mark its spot before lifting it. Clean it only as much as identification requires, then replace it on its original spot.

A stroke at the provisional from nearer the hole than the original’s estimated position makes it the ball in play under stroke and distance. Merely flying or rolling beyond that point does not.

Original found in time against a tree root? Unless the provisional has already become the ball in play, abandon it. A bad lie does not let you choose the second ball. In the general area, unplayable-ball relief offers stroke and distance, back-on-the-line or lateral relief, each for one penalty stroke.

Check the score: if the original tee shot is lost outside a penalty area or out of bounds and the provisional becomes the ball in play after its first stroke, you have taken three—original stroke, penalty stroke and provisional stroke. If the provisional is abandoned, strokes made solely with it do not count.

Sources: R&A; PGA Play; SCGA; Golf Australia; Montana State Golf Association; NJ Golf; GolfMagic.

Golf Ball in Rough — John Douglas (onetreehillstudios), 2007-06-16. CC BY 2.0.