Quote:
Originally Posted by JungleJ
The way I look at it is this:
If it is the original ball in the hazard, the provisional must be abandoned.
If it is the provisional ball in the hazard, the original must be played as it lies.
The Decision resolves the situation by allowing the play of a provisional ball that in 50% of cases could not be used. However, why couldn't the player merely insist that one or the other was the original ball? Who is going to gainsay?
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Who is going to gainsay? The Rules of Golf. And hopefully the player's own integrity.
In such a situation you MUST be able to tell which ball is which because the procedures and score are different. Decision 27/11 revolves around being able to identify your ball. If it isn't possible to know which was the original and which was the provisional, then this decision is your guideline for determining the fairest procedure. It may seem that having to take the highest penalty is harsh, but after all, it's the player's responsibility to play the correct ball, and if he is unable to do that with certainty through his own negligence, then he will just have to pay the price.
I always mark each ball in a similar fashion, but when playing a provisional I will either play a ball with a different number from the original, or in some cases I will even whip out my Sharpie and put a big "P" on the ball which is to be my provisional.
It is just possible that someday I might hit a ball into a place where I lost a ball previously on the course. I've been playing my home course for some 30 years, and I've certainly lost plenty of balls in the native rough. It has never happened so far, and in the extremely rare event that such a freak occurrence might happen, I'll just take my penalty and play on.