Rule 27-2. Provisional Ball allows a player to play another ball "provisionally" when there is reason to believe that the original ball may be lost outside a water hazard or may be out of bounds. The singular purpose of this rule is to speed up the pace of play.

Every player has had occasions to play a provisional ball, but many do not have a clear understanding of when the rule should be invoked, and what procedures to follow. Playing a provisional ball is a bit like using a table saw: it's a time-saver, but you can get into trouble if your attention wanders.

Even highly skilled and experienced players can make mistakes with Rule 27-2, as recalled below from an incident during US Amateur Sectional Qualifying at Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club a few months ago.

At RSFGC, the fairway at the challenging par-4 thirteenth is framed on the left by out of bounds and on the right by a lateral water hazard. A competitor pulled his tee shot left toward the OB stakes. After announcing his intent to play a provisional ball, he played a nearly identical shot to the same location. Yikes! Again invoking rule 27-2, he played a second provisional ball-this time down the right side toward the lateral water hazard. A rules official arrived ahead of the player in the area where the original and first provisional had come to rest, and discovered two balls about 10 feet apart, one of them a couple of feet OB and the other in bounds by inches. Now it gets sticky. Both balls were the same brand, the same number, and marked identically with three black dots. When the player arrived, the official asked him if he could identify which was the original and which was the provisional. The player admitted that he could not distinguish between the two. Consider the possible outcomes as you read on…

27-2 provides a way for you to avoid the infuriating return to the scene of the crime, precluding that you might go forward and learn that your original ball has betrayed your trust. Note, however, that this rule applies in ONLY TWO specific circumstances: 1) if the original may be lost outside a water hazard, or 2) if the original may be out of bounds. In either of these two situations, there is no downside to playing a provisional ball-it can speed play and keep your blood pressure below the danger zone.

If you discover that the original is lost outside a water hazard or is out of bounds, the provisional becomes the ball in play under penalty of stroke and distance. If your original is neither lost nor out of bounds, there is no penalty for having played a provisional provided that you abandon the provisional and continue with the original.

Since you may not be in the best frame of mind immediately after playing a regrettable shot, take a deep breath and clear your head before playing a provisional ball. You don't want to make your situation worse. The application of 27-2 is limited (as noted above) and procedures must be followed. A few helpful details:

1. DON'T PLAY A PROVISIONAL solely because you think your ball may have gone into a water hazard. Another ball played from the original location in this circumstance is NOT a provisional and is now the ball in play under penalty of stroke and distance. In this situation, your original ball must be abandoned-even if you find it playable when you go forward. If you suspect that your original may be in a water hazard, you should not play a "provisional," but proceed instead using one of the options in Rule 26 - Water Hazards.
2. If you wish to invoke the provisional ball rule, you need to comply with TWO POINTS OF PROCEDURE: a) You must inform your opponent (match play) or fellow-competitor (stroke play) that you intend to play a provisional ball, and b) you must play the provisional before you or your partner goes forward to search for the original. It is important to use the word "provisional" when informing of your intent. Other language, such as "That could be lost." or "I better reload." is inadequate. If you play another ball without proper notice, that ball immediately becomes the ball in play under penalty of stroke and distance.
3. It is always important to be able to identify your ball, but especially critical when a provisional is played. Better players often note the distinction between the original and the provisional when informing of their intent: "I'm going to play a provisional ball. The original was a RockFlite 1, and this is a RockFlite 3."

The rule also provides this allowance: The player may play a provisional ball until he reaches the place where the original ball is likely to be. This permits you to play another stroke or strokes with the provisional before reaching the place where you expect your original to be. If the original is found and is in bounds, the provisional is abandoned and no strokes played with the provisional are counted. However, If the provisional is played from the place where the original is likely to be, or a point closer to the hole than that place, the original is deemed to be lost and the provisional becomes the ball in play under penalty of stroke and distance.

Back at Rancho Santa Fe in the US Am Qualifier, what did the player do correctly and what mistakes did he make in playing two provisional balls from the tee at thirteen?

Both provisional balls were played in accordance with Rule 27-2. There was reason to believe that both the original and the first provisional may have come to rest out of bounds. There is no limit to the number of provisional balls that may be played when each of the preceding balls may be lost outside a water hazard or out of bounds. The rule does not permit a third provisional from the tee in this case, because the second provisional was played to a location where Rule 26 - Water Hazards would have been taken precedence. The player also correctly informed his fellow-competitors of his intent on both occasions.

The player's mistake was his failure to consider the possibility that both the original and a provisional would end up in nearly the same place and be indistinguishable. Decision 27/11 provides the solution: The ball in bounds is presumed to be the provisional ball. What if both balls had been found in bounds? Decision 27/11 says that the player would have had to select one of them to play, and treat that ball as the provisional.

It's a cruel game.

Dick Beckman
November, 2003