Quote:
Originally Posted by Fourputt
(Atticus Finch... give the others a chance before you lay the answer on them  )
Scenario:
In stroke play, a player hit his tee shot into an area where there is a lateral water hazard, but there is also some deep rough which is not part of the hazard, and it is the consensus of the group that his ball probably did not go into the hazard. He elects to play a provisional ball just in case his first ball is lost through the green. Without thinking he plays a ball which is identical to and indistinguishable from the first one, and it heads in the same general direction as the first ball. When he gets there he finds both balls. One is unplayable in the hazard, the other is playable in the rough just 10 feet away.
Question: Which ball is in play and how many strokes does it lie? |
It was OK to play the provisional because the ball could have been lost outside the hazard. However, if the original was found in the water hazard, the provisional must be abandoned.
In this case, I am having difficulty working out which ball is in play, but he is lying one either way - either his original ball is in the hazard and the provisional must be abandoned, or his original ball is not in the hazard and he pockets the provisional. I'm guessing that there is nothing stopping him from merely claiming the ball outside the hazard is his original ball, or if he deems it advantageous, to claim the ball in the hazard is in play.