About OB and lost ball, what is the penalty?

Question

Someone told me is 2 stroke penalty for both, is it true? also for fear of lost ball on fairway, we are allowed to hit a provisional ball?

Answer 1

Untrue.  Both OB and lost ball are penalized by one stroke and distance (you take a penatly stroke, then have to go back and hit from the spot where the lost ball was hit from).

Answer 2

No its not true. If you are on the tee box and hit it out of bounds, you need to re-tee, and hit a provisional ball. You are now playing three off of the tee.

1) The tee shot you hit OB

2) The penalty stroke

3) The re-tee

Yes you can hit a provisional ball from anywhere on the course as long as theres a reasonable possibility of the ball being lost or being OB.

Answer 3

When I was a kid 40 years ago if we lost our ball we would drop another one in that area and add two stokes. I believe it was in the rules to do that. The problem was if it was lost you didn't really know where to drop. So the USGA says you have to go back to where you hit the original ball and pay from there adding a penalty for the lost ball. You would count your original shot and the second shot. If it was a tee shot you would be laying 3. If you hit a ball out of bounds the same principle applies (stoke and distance).

You can hit a provisional anytime you think your maybe out of bounds or your ball is going to be lost (outside of a water hazard). You can also play the provisional ball (as a provisional ball) until it goes past the spot where you think you lost your ball. This is good if you hit your first ball far and the provisional ball short. You can hit the provisional ball so that you don't have to walk back.

IMPORTANT - If you find the original ball YOU MUST abandon the PROVISIONAL ball. This is hard for some to understand. If you hit a ball deep in the trash and hit a provisional ball your original ball is still in play until you hit the provisional ball. So if you start looking in the trash and find the original ball you have to pick up the porvisional ball. EVEN if the ball is unplayable. If you decide you can't hit the ball from there you may go back to the original spot and play your next shot (taking a penalty). You don't have the option of using your provisional.

Answer 4

The rule states:

If a ball may be lost outside a water hazard or may be out of bounds, to save time the player may play another ball provisionally in accordance with Rule 27-1. The player must inform his opponent in match play or his marker or a fellow-competitor in stroke play that he intends to play a provisional ball, and he must play it before he or his partner goes forward to search for the original ball.

If he fails to do so and plays another ball, that ball is not a provisional ball and becomes the ball in play under penalty of stroke and distance (Rule 27-1); the original ball is lost.

That is for the provisional ball. The ruling for out of bounds is:

If a ball is out of bounds, the player must play a ball, under penalty of one stroke, as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played (see Rule 20-5).

Answer 5

Pay particular attention to Ted's answer.  He pointed out something I was going to.  In the lost ball situation, if you hit a provisional and wish to play the provisional, then it is highly recommended you not go looking for the original..  Once you find the ball, the provisional is no longer in play.  Because the status of the ball has changed under which you played the provisional shot.  If the ball is OB then it's OB and that can't be changed.  Now, if you hit a ball you think is OB (and hit a provisional) and you find it in play but you have an unplayable lie, the provisional is no longer in play as well.  

The lost ball scenario happened to Phil Mickelson a few years ago at Tory Pines.  Phil hit a ball in the "gunch" and then declared the next shot a provisional.  When he got to the gunch area, he took a brief look and declared it a lost ball.  The spotter went in and found the balls location.  I believe by rule any ball located has to be identified whether the player is looking or not.....just something to think about......You have only five minutes beginning when it is your turn to play your shot.