Provisional shot after a lost ball shot question?

Question

Last weekends scenario: I tee off and slice my ball to the right out into the desert, but still within the OB posts. My friend jerks his to the left out into the desert and into a tree, but still within the OB posts. I call provisional and hit one right down the fairway and the same with my friend. I search for over 5 minutes and can't find my ball, so declare it lost and play my provisional. My friend finds his ball in the tree and it's unplayable and he says he'll just play his provisional. I know that is a rules violation and he needed to play his original, which would require an unplayable drop in the dirt and rocks of the desert and he'd be lucky to get that ball out to where his provisional is.

My question is, after he bombs his provisional, can he immediately call his first ball lost and not even look for it so that he doesn't find it and have to play it? Or is he required to look for it because we saw which tree it went into? And please clarify the time limit, thx!

Great detailed answers, thx much! But good guy and John contradicted each other when gg said "he has to attempt to find his first ball" and when John said "he is not required to look for his first ball if he likes his provisional". So, I know the 'good sport' thing to do is to attempt to look for the original, but is it a requirement? thx again & I'll quit typing walls of text.

Answer 1

he has to attempt to find his first shot, and unless he can identify it as his up in the tree, then he could say his first shot is lost...however if he can identify his "tree" ball, then he must play it (and take an unplayable lie and has two club lengths from the spot where his ball is unplayable)...as for length of time to look for a lost ball, i believe the rules state a ten minute maximum time, (but i could be wrong, in which case someone will correct me).
your opponent may not declare his tree shot "lost" due to his excellent provisional ball as that would give him an unfair (not to mention unsportsmanlike) advantage...
next time he tries anything like this, pull out your wedge and club HIM, then declare victory by default as your opponent will be "unplayable"....okay, i was just kidding on that last part.

Answer 2

First off you must look for the ball if it is even close to in bounds. This is for his benefit too. Otherwise you play 4 from the fairway. If you play 2 from the rough and chip back to the fairway, and skull your third shot, You will still be lying four in the fairway. The rule states you must look for your ball. final.
If he found his ball he has to take the unplayable drop, within two clublengths of where the ball is lying. If this is not attainable, he must go directly backwards from the ball and drop where it is playable. If he doesn't want to ding his clubs,tell him to find a new sport. In this game you will find that even a sand trap can ding the club so sometimes you just have to live with it.
The time limit is five minutes per stroke. final. after this time you must play the provisional. If the shot went into a hazard, you must drop from where the ball went into the hazard, no closer to the hole.

Answer 3

Once you nominate a provisional ball of the tee, thats exactly what it is, a provisional shot to save you coming back to the tee to hit another ball just in case you couldnt find the first one. The operative line there, "in case you cant find the first one"

If you KNOW the ball is lost, don't nominate the next shot of the tee as a 'provisional ball' you have instantly declared the first shot as lost, therfore you have hit your third (3rd) shot off the tee, then continue play

Your friend has found his ball, ok its unplayable and therefore he must pay the penalty of hitting the ball in the ****, if he drops on rocks, (most clubs have a local rule of free relief of rocks), but if no rule then yeah his next shot is off the rocks an so on.

Answer to your question in simple terms, No you cant instantly play the provisional ball, yes he has to attempt to find his ball. 5 min search time from the moment you get to the spot that you and your marker deem to be lost in.

Answer 4

When your friend found his ball, his provisional was no longer valid.

If he declares his ball unplayable, he can take a stroke and drop within two club lengths. He can also return to the tee and take stroke and distance.

But he cannot play the provisional ball as his "stroke and distance" ball for the unplayable lie.

He is not required to look for his ball if he likes his provisional. BUT if someone else finds his ball, he must try to identify it. If he truthfully can identify it as his ball, then he must proceed with that ball.

As his fellow-competitor, you (or somebody in the gallery)could actually search for his ball before he plays his second shot. Unless you're playing a high-stakes tournament, I wouldn't recommend this!

The time limit is 5 minutes to search for a lost ball.

See Rule 27, and a raftload of decisions, especially decision 27-2c/2.

Answer 5

Your friend can deem the first ball lost and play the provisional. However if you or someone decides to look and finds the ball then it is in play. He has 5 minutes in which to find it.

Answer 6

You cannot "deem a ball lost." You have 5 minutes to look for the ball. You do NOT have to use any of that time. You can proceed to your provisional ball and hit. The provisional ball becomes the ball in play when it is hit. If you see his ball before he hits the provisional then he has to check it and see if it is indead his ball. If it is his original ball then he HAS to abandon the provisional ball.

Answer 7

You have five minutes to search for the original ball, if not found you must play the provisional with a one stroke penalty.

If you play the provisional and subsequently find the original, you must pick up the provisional and play the original, if it is inbounds.
If it is out of bounds, it is assessed the penalty of "stroke and distance"

Edit: Yes, he is required to look for his original ball first.