Red stake and provisional question

Yesterday, playing with a buddy, We had this par 4, where all along the left and the front of the tee box was water.  I hit my drive to the left and we saw a SPLASH, in the bank,  I figured that it was in the water.  I hit a "provisional" with my tee ball and it ended up in the right bunker.  We get up to look for the ball just in case, and there it lays, inches inside the hazard stake.  What would be the correct play?  I just learned yesterday that I should not have hit a provisional for that ball.  CAN I legally hit the ball in the hazard, or do I have to play it as a stake and take my drop?  Or do I get a penalty for hitting a provisional?

I'll let you guys answer and then I'll tell you how I proceeded.

As you can only play a provisional for a ball that may be lost OUTSIDE a hazard, when you played your second stroke from the tee, it became your ball in play.  The only applicable rule that could be applied is that you proceeded under rule 26-1a.  You would not be able to play or drop your first ball.  You are laying 3 in the bunker.

Don't feel too bad BTW, this is a common error.

If you played your first ball as it lay in the hazard, you played a wrong ball.  If you picked it up and dropped it, or dropped another ball under the hazard rule you made an incorrect substitution and played from a wrong place.

You may not hit a "provisional" ball for a ball you believe to have been lost in a hazard.  As such, as soon as you hit that ball, it became your ball in play.  You lie 3 in the bunker.

Edited to add that Dormie beat me to it.......as is so often the case!

Never mind!

Fourputt usually beats both of us and then Rulesman corrects any errors...... usually on my answers.

Yeah, those rat-bastards are FAST!

Did you announce the 2nd tee ball as a provisional?  You said you believed your ball was in the water because of the splash but did you think there might be a chance that the ball could be lost outside the hazard?  I have seen balls skip out of hazards with a splash and into long grass nearby, so I think  this might be a reasonable possibility in some circumstances.

It is my understanding that a provisional is permitted if you believe there is a chance a ball might be lost outside a hazard even if it is likely to be in the hazard.  If that is the case, then it was OK to hit a provisional and the provisional must be picked up/abandoned when you find your first ball.

From the tone of the post it seems to me that there was a chance that the ball may not have finished in the WH. It is not clear that if it was not in the WH, then it could not be lost.

So, Dormie & Dave in FL are correct if it was known that the ball was in the WH or if it was known that the ball was not in the WH but could not be lost elsewhere.

But if there was a chance that it could be outside the WH but possibly not findable, then MEfree is correct.

In the OP he stated that he believed it to be lost in the hazard......I understood that to mean that he didn't believe that there was a possibility for it to be lost outside of the hazard.

I'm not sure that 'intent' is correct in this situation but certainly what he means by 'figured' is the key.

A 'splash in the bank' seems odd if the bank is not in the water. But where is the WH margin?

The key words are in bold.

If a ball may be lost outside a water hazard or may be out of bounds , .....the player may play another ball provisionally ...

Sorry guys, just got out of class..... I DID in fact announce that my ball was a provisional....  I said exactly "I'm hitting a provisional,  and I choose to re-tee because I think that would be the best option" (instead of hitting a 3 wood 5 yards in front of the teebox with no tee)

The ball splashed, and there was rocks in the bank... it had to hit a rock and bounce up... it was a lucky break, but I guess i should've been playing the ball in the bunker (my third shot) still?

What if the player and his f-c's all say that yes, that ball dipped and is lost in the WH. After that consensus the player hits a provisional ball.

What is the ruling?

You're right, intent was the wrong word.  I actually editted my response while you were typing this.  It sounded to me as if the only option for the ball to be lost was if it were lost in the WH.....

This implies that your were trying to play a "provisional" under R26-1.  If so you can not do this.  If I understand correctly, you had water in front and to the side of the tee box.  If your ball was unplayable because it was in a hazard, the only option that you would have had under the hazard rule is to return to the tee side of the hazard and play from there.  You played a ball "provisionally" so in case your ball was in the hazard and not playable, you would not have to come back to the tee.  Is this correct?  If so,.....you're laying 3 in the bunker.

To summarize, you may play a provisional for a ball that might be lost outside of a hazard or is OB.  If you thought your ball might be lost outside of the hazard, (there was a chance you could not find it), then yes you may play a provisional.  I this case, If your original ball is found, regardless if it's in the hazard or not, you must continue play with the original ball.

If, on the other hand you chose to play a provisional for any other reason, it would not be according to the rules and you would be required to continue play with the second ball.

I hope this helps.

If everyone agrees the ball is lost IN the hazard, the player can not play a provisional.  So his second ball is played under stroke and distance.

The key to all this, IMO is not whether or not there is virtual certainty that the ball is in the hazard.  The issue is whether or not the ball, if outside the hazard can be found .  If there is doubt that the ball can be found, then a provisional can be played.