Rules of Golf Quiz #21

Answer to Rules Quiz #20

Clarence declared he was going back to the tee and hit a “provisional ball” since he thought he wouldn’t be able to find his original ball. His playing partner, Mel, found Clarence’s ball on the golf course before the 3-minute search limit expired, so according to Rule 18.3c, Clarence was required to abandon his provisional ball and play out his hole with his original ball.

Key facts to remember:
1) A provisional ball is an option to a player when a ball might be lost outside a penalty area or out of bounds. It, in essence, is a potential time saver since a lost ball or ball out of bounds requires a player to go back to where they played their previous shot and continue play from there.
2) There is a 3-minute time limit to search for a ball. Once the 3 minutes have expired the original ball is deemed lost. If the ball is found within the 3 minutes the ball is in play regardless of who finds the ball and if a provisional ball had been hit, it would be abandoned.

Rules Quiz #21

In the Fall Club Championship Roy pushed his tee shot on the 5th hole sending it into the woods on the right. As he is walking through the woods on the way to where he thinks his ball is, Roy happens to accidentally kick a ball that is under the leaves. To his surprise, he looks down to see that the ball he kicked was his ball. Evidently, his ball had hit a tree and bounced back towards the tee. Unsure of how to proceed, Roy asked his playing partners (Chris and Bernie) what he should do. Chris answered that since it was an accident, Roy should replace his ball with no penalty. Bernie claimed that since Roy caused his ball to move he gets a 2-stroke penalty and is required to replace his ball. Chris disagreed saying that last year he had a similar situation where he was looking for his ball in the leaves when he accidentally kicked his ball and the Pro ruled that there was no penalty and all he had to do was replace his ball. Who, if anyone, is right?