Perhaps the most basic rule question ... out of bounds (unrecoverable)

... ok, so I hit a ball or two in the woods off the driver every round.       Totally unrecoverable.

So I've heard there are two ways to handle this:

1. Re-tee & drive again.    This results in loss of TWO additional strokes, correct ?   So, the next fairway shot will be shooting your 4th shot.

---OR---

2. Take a WAG (wildassguess) where the ball entered the woods & drop a ball from the edge so it's playable.      Assume the penalty is the same - loss of two strokes & the next shot near where the ball entered the woods will be shooting your 4th shot.

Is it your option to select which of these penalties you prefer, or is one of these the only option ?      Also, can someone give me the definition of PROVISIONAL, as it applies to this situation - never understood the meaning of the term provisional & what the resulting penalty associated with a provisional is.

I'm sure every newer player has this same question & this unfortunately comes up every round at one point or another ... so any help you can offer would be much appreciated !   Thanks...

Option 2 is an EXTREMELY common misconception as to how to handle a lost ball.  Your only choice is option 1.  The process would be as follows:

1. Hit tee shot into woods and lose it (1st stroke)

2. Drop from where the 1st stroke was made, so re-tee in this case (2nd stroke)

3. Hit 2nd tee shot hopefully in play (3rd) stroke

When I'm just farting around on the course for practice I will often use option 2 as you described because, well, I'm lazy and it's easier.  But treating OB or lost balls as lateral hazards is not legal for posting legitimate scores.

As I understand it the process would be:

1. Hit first tee shot. Not sure whether it went OOB or is playable.
2. Declare that a provisional is being hit and hit it.
3. Try to find first ball.
   If first ball is found (i.e. not OOB and not in water) then the original ball MUST be played but with no penalty.
   If the ball is not found then the provisional must be played. The second shot on your provisional ball would be your fourth stroke for the hole (first tee shot + penalty stroke + provisional tee shot left you three off the tee)

I've never heard of anyone playing your option 2 except when not scoring the round and playing for fun.

Quick question that comes to mind regarding the above bold statements.  Are you required to declare the provisional and attempt to find the 1st ball, or can you immediately put the 2nd ball in play and take the penalty?  I often do so as, when my ball slices into the darkest depths of Mirkwood, it's quite obvious that it will never be found.

The only option with Out Of Bounds is to hit from where you last hit. It's the most basic rule of them all.

Depends if really OOB or not. If you simply hit it deep into some woods and do not actually declare your second to be a provisional (i.e. say "I'm hitting a provisional" or similar; saying "I'm hitting another" is a bad idea) then even if you find the first and it's playable, you must play the second w/ associated penalties. If you know the first is OOB, then you can just simply play three off the tee from the word go. If you want to, you can declare one hit deep into the undergrowth as lost straight off the bat and then do as you describe regardless.

Usually, whatever the situation, it's better to say you'll hit a provisional if there's a chance you're OOB or lost with the first. That way if you walk down and find the first in bounds or simply find it, you can simply play that one and pick the provo up. Saves time on a round as well!

Must.

I've played a few courses in heavily wooded areas that have a local rule in place, "play all balls lost in the woods as lateral hazards".  In this case there are is no need to play a provisional if you see it go in the woods, either a) you find it and play it or b) you saw it go in the hazard (ie - woods).

1. Hit tee shot, can't find it

2. Drop at edge of trees with penalty of 1 shot

3. Hit 3rd shot from this location

There are a lot of desert style courses around here and one of them has a similar rule that any ball hit into the desert can be played as is or dropped in the nearest grass area with a penalty of one stroke.  If such a local rule exists, then that is fine, otherwise it must be treated as any other lost ball.

So in the OPs example, if such a local rule were in play, the first shot would be into the woods, the second would be your drop and you'd be playing three.

As said by others: You need to know if the woods is out of bounds, a lateral hazard, or just woods were balls are often lost.

If OB, then you must drop (or re-tee) from the place nearest were you were when you hit it OB. You lose a stroke and the distance. So if it was a tee shot that went OB, you re-tee and are now hitting your third shot. OB is marked with white stakes, a white line or a note on the card ("The woods on hole 18 is out of bounds.") You do not have the option of playing a ball that is OB.

If it is a lateral hazard (referred to in the rules as lateral water hazard), it will either have red stakes, a red line, or be indicated on the scorecard as a local rule ("All woods left of hole 13 are considered a lateral water hazard."). In that case you have choices: re-play your last shot and if the last shot was your first, you are now hitting three, drop within two club lengths of where the ball entered the hazard or as far back on a line from that entry point and the hole as you wish, and hit your third, or find it and play it from the woods without grounding your club and hit two. There is another option to play from the opposite side of the hazard. Get a book to understand that one.

If it is just woods where balls go to be lost, and yours is lost, the rules are the same as OB. Re-play the shot with a penalty of stroke and distance.

As a note: there is no such thing as a drop along the line of flight. The drop for red stakes is within two clubs from where it entered the hazard.

Actually you can't "declare" a ball lost - someone could still find it within 5 minutes and you'd be forced to play it. But that's only if you declared the second ball a provisional - so if you really want to abandon the first ball, just don't declare the second ball a provisional and it will immediately be the one in play. (Of course, as you say, that's rarely to one's advantage.)

You are required to state unmistakably that the second ball is a provisional ball if that is your desire.  If you do not do so it is the ball in play under stroke and distance penalty.  YOu are not required to play it as a provisional ball, nor are you ever required to search for the original ball.  The risk you take it that if the second ball is also sprayed into the woods, you have lost the option of searching and maybe finding the original ball saving several strokes.  Even if the only ball you find is the one played as a provisional, you save the necessity of hitting a 3rd from the tee.  There can be more than just time saving considerations possible in favor of playing a provisional ball.  Just be certain that you can differentiate between any balls you play, i.e. original marked one way, provisional one, provisional two, etc., each marked differently.

Thx guys for the clarification !!

I think this rule only applies if you find your ball.  If the ball is lost you have to go back to the spot you hit from.  At least that's the way the local rule on many of our desert courses here in AZ is stated.

Such a concept as 'declaring a ball lost' does not exist, you simply cannot do that. What you can do, is to hit a new ball without saying anything and that will be your ball in play. Should you want to clarify your intentions you may always say 'new ball' but this is not a requirement.

I doubt that is the case.  They do NOT want you to go in and try to 'find' your ball, as there are often rattle-snakes or other such hazards in the desert.  The courses played in the woods would apply to other types of wildlife that might be more prevalent in the woods.  Plus, what the rules usually say is to treat it as a 'lateral hazard', ie - you saw your ball go in the woods or as the rules state , with virtual certainty .  You don't have to go into a pond or lake and 'find' your ball, do you?

Exactly.  You are essentially declaring the first shot unplayable.

The one advantage of NOT declaring provisional is when finding the ball deep in the woods leaves no option other than to re-tee as an unplayable.  In this case you can not play the provisional, you would have to go back and re-tee.

This confuses me.

In the situation above I thought that the process would be:

1. Ball slices out to the right.
2. Player can then tee up a provisional ball and tells his opponent that he's hitting a provisional.
   

   27.2. Provisional Ball

   • a. Procedure

   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.

3. Player then plays the provisional ball with as many strokes as needed to get the ball to the location of the lost ball but no nearer the hole.
   

   • b. When Provisional Ball Becomes Ball in Play

   The player may play a provisional ball until he reaches the place where the original ball is likely to be. If he makes a stroke with the provisional ball from the place where the original ball is likely to be or from a point nearer the hole than that place, the original ball is lost and the provisional ball becomes the ball in play under penalty of stroke and distance (Rule 27-1).

4. Player then has the choice of looking for his ball if there's a possibility it can be found or simply playing the provisional at penalty of stroke plus distance (3 off the tee). If he plays a stroke with the provisional any closer to the hole than the lost ball, the lost ball cannot be played even if it's found.
5. If his original ball is found he MUST play the ball providing he's not played the provisional any closer to the hole and the provisional is no longer used.
6. If the original cannot be found then the provisional becomes the ball in play.