Player A & B are playing hole #7. As Player A is a long hitter, he chose to back up about 4 club lengths from the tee marker, to avoid going into the creek. His tee shot goes right and might be out of bounds. He rethinks his shot and decides to hit from the tee markers. Player B suggests that he use a 3 wood to be safe. He pulls the 3 wood and tells Player B he is hitting a provisional.
Player A , however finds his 1st ball in play just outside the OB line (in bounds). He plays that ball and they complete the hole and goes on to com-plete their round. Which is true?
A) All is good.
B) As Player A’s 1st tee shot was hit from outside the teeing area, he was required to accept a two stroke penalty and play from the correct area. The 1st tee shot is a wrong ball, as it was not put into play. The provisional became the ball in play, when hit from the correct teeing area and was not a provisional. Player A is now pe-nalized 2 strokes for playing a wrong ball for a total of 4 strokes.
C) Because Player A did not correct finishing #7 with a wrong ball, he is disqualified, and Player B is penalized 2 strokes for suggesting A play 3 wood to be safe.
Rule 6.3c, 6.1b & 10.2a The answer is “C”
In February, the newsletter will include some of the rule changes for 2024.