New Golf Rules Q: what happens when a golfer does THIS on the tee...
GolfMagic reader sends us a golf rules query following his game at the weekend...
Yo GolfMagic... so I was out playing a game at the weekend and a player in my group struck his tee shot way left towards the out of bounds. He then announced a provisional ball, and hit that ball in exactly the same area. Frustrated, he then pegged up a third ball from the tee but didn't announce anything. What is the ruling under the new rules of golf set for January 1, 2019?
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ANSWER from GolfMagic Rules expert Ash Weller...
Okay, so if the original ball is found and is not out of bounds, the player must continue play with the ORIGINAL BALL, without penalty.
However, if the original ball is lost or out of bounds, the player must continue to play with the THIRD BALL played from the tee since it was played without any announcement.
Therefore, the third ball was a ball substituted for the provisional ball under stroke and distance (Rule 18.1), regardless of the provisional ball’s location.
The player has now taken FIVE strokes (including penalty strokes) with the third ball played from the tee (Interpretation 18.3a/3)
NEXT PAGE: ARE PROVISIONALS GOING OUT THE GAME FOR GOOD IN 2019?!
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