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Golf Rules and Basics All clubs Beginner / Intermediate ⏱ 2 min 🇬🇧 Video in English, summarized

Provisional Ball in Golf: When and How to Play It

Your ball is heading to the right, toward the trees or out of bounds. In this official video on the 2023 Rules, the USGA explains what the rule requires and why playing a provisional ball right away saves you a trip back and forth.

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USGA · his YouTube channelFree lesson selected by Fred P.

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What the lesson shows

If your ball is out of bounds or lost, the rule requires you to play another shot from the spot of your previous shot, under penalty of stroke and distance. This is the only option, unless an optional local rule provides an alternative. When in doubt, play a provisional ball From the original spot: having to go get the ball and then come back slows down the game.

If the previous shot was played from the tee, simply place the ball back on a tee. If it was played from the fairway, the rough, a bunker, or a penalty area, drop a ball. a club's length from the spot of the previous shot, no closer to the hole. If you find your ball in bounds within the three minutes If you find it, play it and have the temporary one removed. Otherwise, continue with the temporary one. Exception: no provisional ball when the original ball can only be lost in a penalty area; in that case, the options for clearing the ball from the penalty area must be used.

The Exercise, Step by Step

  1. After a questionable shot, ask yourself whether the ball might be lost or out of bounds.
  2. If so, and if it cannot be in a penalty area alone, play a provisional ball.
  3. From the tee, place the ball back on the tee.
  4. From the fairway, the rough, a bunker, or a penalty area, drop the ball within one club length of where the previous shot was played, but no closer to the hole.
  5. Go get the original ball: you have three minutes.
  6. If it's within bounds: play it and pick up the temporary marker. Otherwise, continue with the temporary marker.

Key Takeaways

Ball out of bounds or lost: Play resumes from the spot of the previous shot, with a one-stroke penalty and the distance added to the next hole.
This is the only option, unless an optional local rule provides for an alternative.
If in doubt, play a provisional ball right away.
If the ball hits an obstacle in the takeaway: replay the shot; elsewhere: take a drop within one club length, no closer to the hole.
If the original ball is found within the boundaries within 3 minutes, play continues.
No provisional shot if the ball can only be in a penalty area.

Mistakes to Avoid

  • Going to look for your ball without having played a provisional, and then having to come back.
  • To drop a ball where you think it went out of bounds, without a local rule allowing it.
  • Taking a provisional shot when the ball can only be in a penalty area.
  • Searching for the ball for more than three minutes.
  • Drop the ball closer to the hole than where the previous shot landed.

Driving Range Mode

Keep it in plain sight, on the rug.

  1. On the course: a temporary reflex whenever a shot is uncertain
  2. Before playing, locate the out-of-bounds stakes and penalty areas
  3. Time the search: three minutes
  4. Measuring a club length for a drop off the tee during the takeaway

Your Questions

Where should the provisional ball be played if the previous shot was not hit from the tee?

The USGA states that a ball should be dropped one club length from the spot of the previous shot (fairway, rough, bunker, or penalty area), but no closer to the hole.

What should I do if I find my original ball?

If it is in bounds and found within three minutes of the search, you play it, and the provisional ball is picked up.

Can you always play a provisional ball?

No. If the original ball can only be lost in a penalty area, a provisional ball is not allowed: you must use the options for relieving the ball from the penalty area.

Is there any other option besides going back?

The video specifies that a drop and play is the only option for a ball out of bounds or lost, unless an optional local rule provides for an alternative.

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