IJGT Rules Blog

Provisional Ball

At every IJGT Tournament, players encounter situations where they are unsure of how to proceed under the Rules of Golf. In this blog series, we will be highlighting a scenario from one of our prior tournaments. Real on-course examples allow us to better understand the complicated set of guidelines we call rules. Contrary to popular belief, the Rules of Golf are there for the player’s benefit.

Last weekend at Eagle's Pointe Golf Club in Bluffton, S.C., we had a situation involving Rule 27 – Ball Lost or Out of Bounds; Provisional Ball. Player A was on hole No. 9. There is a lateral water hazard running down the entire right side of the hole. Player A's drive went right, but he did not see where it landed. He went ahead and played a "provisional ball." When he went forward he determined his first ball went in the water and wanted to drop 2 club lengths from where he last crossed the lateral water hazard. Is he allowed to do this?

NO, Player A did not in fact play a "provisional ball" because a provisional ball can only be played if his ball may be lost outside of a water hazard or may be out of bounds. It was clear that Player A's ball would either be in the rough off the fairway or in the water hazard. 

In the situation above, when Player A hit his second ball off the tee he was playing under penalty of stroke and distance. Therefore he would be required to play the second ball and would be hitting 4.

Quiz of the Week:

Player B hits her first tee shot into the woods, but knows the Rules of Golf so she plays a provisional ball which ends up in the middle of the fairway. If she finds her original ball in the trees is she allowed to play her provisional ball in the middle of the fairway as long as she takes the appropriate penalty stroke?

1) YES

2) NO

Email your responses to Kyle Wolfe (kylew@ijgt.com). Every answer will be entered into a drawing to receive a dozen Bridgestone golf balls!

Check out the previous Quiz of the Week with the correct answer here.

Have questions about the Rules of Golf? Email IJGT Tournament Director, Kyle Wolfe (kylew@ijgt.com).