July 7, 2015

Question

I thought I hit my tee shot Out of Bounds, so I hit a provisional ball which turned out to be a 150-yard pop-up. I then hit my provisional ball from the fairway. I eventually got up to and found my original ball In Bounds. Which ball should I now be playing?

Answer

Under Rule 27-2, if you get to your provisional ball before you get to where you think your ball lies, you can hit your provisional ball again and it remains your provisional ball. Once you reach where you believe your original ball came to rest - and you find it, you must play your original ball and abandon your provisional. If you had continued to play your provisional ball at this point you would essentially be playing the wrong ball. 

Happy golfing and remember the Rules Matter.