Quote:
Originally Posted by JPsuff
As far as the whole "announcement" thing goes, I suppose that in a "crossing "T's" and "Dotting "I's" sense it may have some merit. But since there's no other reason on earth to hit a second ball other than because you think the first one is either lost or OB, the whole idea of "announcing" it seems overly picky.
-JP
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Crossing "T's" and dotting "I's" is definitely what this is all about, and it is quite pertinent. If I hit a ball into a wooded area where there is only a dim chance of finding it to be playable, I may just in disgust deem it unplayable without ever looking for it, and play a substituted ball from the same place. I can't now change my mind when I get to the location and see that, low and behold, my ball hit a tree and bounced out almost to the fairway. I can't change my mind and decide that the ball I played was a provisional... that decision had to be made before I had such knowledge. If I don't say anything, then the rules assume that I have declared the original to be unplayable. The second ball is in play under penalty of stroke and distance, regardless of the fate of the original ball.
Under the the rules, there has to be some way to define what that second ball is when it is played, so it is defined automatically as a penalty substitution unless you inform your opponent or fellow competitor otherwise (a provisional ball).