Provisional Question

[Mesa4234]

On the 4th hole of my round today, the skies opened up and it started pouring. My second shot was from the short rough but had to go through a tree or two. I hit the shot, it felt good and made it through the trees, but no one saw it land, and we couldn't see the ball from where we were because of the rain. I hit a provisional from around the same spot and continued on the hole. When we get up to the green  (after hitting the provisional and another shot with the provisional ball) I found my original ball just off the green. 

I then played the original ball and no one questioned it. My question is, can I go back to playing the original ball after hitting a provisional and then playing it with another shot?

[Golfingdad]

  On 8/15/2019 at 12:10 AM, Mesa4234 said:

On the 4th hole of my round today, the skies opened up and it started pouring. My second shot was from the short rough but had to go through a tree or two. I hit the shot, it felt good and made it through the trees, but no one saw it land, and we couldn't see the ball from where we were because of the rain. I hit a provisional from around the same spot and continued on the hole. When we get up to the green  (after hitting the provisional and another shot with the provisional ball) I found my original ball just off the green. 

I then played the original ball and no one questioned it. My question is, can I go back to playing the original ball after hitting a provisional and then playing it with another shot?

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Yes you can ... you can play the provisional up to the point where your ball is likely to be without forfeiting the opportunity to find and play the original.

[iacas]

  On 8/15/2019 at 12:18 AM, Golfingdad said:

Yes you can ... you can play the provisional up to the point where your ball is likely to be without forfeiting the opportunity to find and play the original.

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To build off of that, you have to make a determination of where your original ball is likely to be. If you play a shot with a provisional ball at a spot beyond that (nearer to the hole than the spot at which your original ball is likely to be, as judged by y'all), then the original ball is abandoned and your provisional is the ball in play.

If you later find your original ball nearer to the hole than your provisional, it doesn't matter. It's where you think it's likely to be.

[Golfingdad]

  On 8/15/2019 at 1:07 AM, iacas said:

... the spot at which your original ball is likely to be, as judged by y'all ...

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So this is basically it.  If you guys considered it reasonable for the ball to have ended up where you found it, then you were good to keep playing it.  And considering:

 

  On 8/15/2019 at 12:10 AM, Mesa4234 said:

... I hit the shot, it felt good and made it through the trees...

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it seems pretty reasonable to me that it would be likely to have been near the green, right where you found it.

[Mesa4234]

  On 8/15/2019 at 5:31 PM, Golfingdad said:

 

 

it seems pretty reasonable to me that it would be likely to have been near the green, right where you found it.

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I honestly though it could be over there, but with the downpour, I didn't want to take any chances, especially with the visibility so low. 

 

[Piz]

Philosophically speaking...If you forget why you asked a question, in the first place, you may ask a provisional question, or questions, until such time as you recall what it was you were on about.  At that point you have to resume your previous inquiry...or declare the thread lost.