Can I play a provisional after I’ve started searching?
If you’re hunting for your ball, is going back and hitting a provisional now off the table? Our Rules of Golf expert has the answer
Provisional or stroke-and-distance. We often think about it as an either/or choice. You hit a shot, have a look, and then – if you haven’t already taken a provisional – you go back to where you played your last shot and go again.
But what about this email poser from Margaret Joyce? “Two players have hit their respective balls off the tee and moved forward to look for one of the player’s balls, which landed in the rough. If, after a short while, they decided they should have played a provisional ball, can they then go back and do that?”
What do you think? Can you go back and play a provisional while a search is still ongoing? Let’s take a look at what the Rules of Golf say…
Provisional ball search: Can you hit a provisional while the clock is ticking on search?
If I had a pound for every message I’ve received where someone says you can declare a ball lost I’d be able to coat my rules book in gold.
You haven’t been able to do it under the Rules of Golf for decades but it’s one of those things that’s just stuck around no matter how many times you try and counter it.
I mention it because there are some situations where it can hurt you to presume something and Margaret’s excellent question is one of those.
How many times have you seen a playing partner scoot around the rough for a minute before saying “it’s lost” and returning from whence they came and putting one in play under penalty of stroke-and-distance?
And yet, the rules say it’s perfectly acceptable to go back and hit a provisional.
It’s all in a clarification to Rule 18.3a and is revealed under the very straight forward heading “Playing Provisional Ball After Search Has Started Is Allowed”.
It states: “A player may play a provisional ball for a ball that might be lost up until the point when the three-minute search time has ended.
“For example, if a player is able to return to the spot of their previous stroke and play a provisional before the three-minute search time has ended, the player is allowed to do so.
“If the player plays the provisional ball and the original ball is then found within the three-minute search time, the player must continue play with the original ball.”
Got a question for our expert?
Despite the changes to the Rules of Golf in 2019 and 2023, there are still some that leave us scratching our heads. I’ll try to help by featuring the best of your queries in this column.
What do you think about this provisional ball rule? Let me know by leaving a comment on X.
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; Caley 01T irons 4-PW; TaylorMade Hi-Toe wedges, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
