4th Provisional ball, what stroke am I on?

[Golfz]

So, I played decently today, under my handicap until it came to the 15th hole. For some reason I couldnt hit the ball to save my life. First ball was a massive slice deep into the woods. Played my provisional ball which was a pull slice into grass as deep as hell I would never end up finding. Third ball went slicing and joined the first ball in the woods. At this point I am getting frustrated to the point I was considering giving up golf. Thought maybe a fourth ball would do it, nope...ended up pulling it and it sailed waaaaay out of bounds. I had no idea what to do at this point, risk losing any faith I had left in my golfing abilities or try to attempt to get the next one on the fairway. As if the heavens answed, my fifth ball managed to land in the rough next to the fairway...about 100m out...on a par 5 hole...I didn't care, it was like chirstmas to me! Finally a ball in play.

Luckily no one was around so I could save the embarassment and carry on as normal. After 5 more hits I made it to the hole. But, what is my score? I played with my 4th provisional ball, and then hit that ball 6 times (including tee shot). My total strokes is 14??? Or can I ignore the first three provisional balls?

[DaveP043]

1  lost in woods

2 penalty

3 lost in grass

4 penalty

5 lost in woods

6 penalty

7 OB 

8 penalty

9 rough near fairway

plus 5 more hits is a 14

Sadly, unless you find one of those first four attempts, each one counts as a shot plus a penalty.  It makes you want to at least take a look for them, doesn't it?

 

[CarlSpackler]

@DaveP043 is wise. An easy way to remember is that each provisional represents an odd number assuming you are hitting from the tee. 1,3,5,7,9. Hopefully you will not have to use this system ever again though. I know I've made it to 5 before and was .

[Golfingdad]

For handicap posting, depending on what your index is, you'd only take a 7 or 8 on the hole though.

If I'm not in a competition, I stop hitting after the second one is gone simply for economical reasons. ;)

[Psyber]

After the second one went out I would strongly suggest just hitting your favorite iron. Tough break.

[CarlSpackler]

1 minute ago, Golfingdad said:

For handicap posting, depending on what your index is, you'd only take a 7 or 8 on the hole though.

If I'm not in a competition, I stop hitting after the second one is gone simply for economical reasons. ;)

You can't give up man! That is letting the course beat you. You have to let it know who the boss is and put one in play before picking up. 

[DaveP043]

1 minute ago, Golfingdad said:

For handicap posting, depending on what your index is, you'd only take a 7 or 8 on the hole though.

If I'm not in a competition, I stop hitting after the second one is gone simply for economical reasons. ;)

Sometimes I pick up more strays than I really need, this is a good way to get rid of them and make the bag a good bit lighter.

[saevel25]

2 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

For handicap posting, depending on what your index is, you'd only take a 7 or 8 on the hole though.

If I'm not in a competition, I stop hitting after the second one is gone simply for economical reasons. ;)

If I know I'm going over my ESC then I usually pick up or drop down where the ball went OB and play in. 

[shanksalot]

This is where you use that score the USGA recommends when you have that type of score. Depending on handicap you can do that by using ESC equitabe stroke control. 

Course handicap 9 or less doubly bogie,

                             10-19   7

                              20-29   8

                              30-39   9        So instead of 14 you must post an 8 since you are a 22 hcp.

 

Edited September 22, 2016 by shanksalot

[DaveP043]

2 minutes ago, shanksalot said:

This is where you use that score the USGA recommends when you have that type of score. Depending on handicap you can do that by using ESC equitabe stroke control. 

Course handicap 9 or less doubly bogie

                             10-19 7

                              20-29 8

                              30-39 9        

 

The OP mentioned that nobody was around, so I assume he was playing alone.  If that's the case, he shouldn't be posting the score, so the ESC doesn't really apply.  Even so, I'd have quit hitting from that tee long before I got to my fifth attempt.

[Golfz]

3 minutes ago, shanksalot said:

This is where you use that score the USGA recommends when you have that type of score. Depending on handicap you can do that by using ESC equitabe stroke control. 

Course handicap 9 or less doubly bogie

                             10-19 7

                              20-29 8

                              30-39 9        

 

So I would take an 8 on the scorecard as my handicap is between 20-29? 

9 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

If I know I'm going over my ESC then I usually pick up or drop down where the ball went OB and play in. 

Shouldnt you play from where the last ball was hit? Officially. I mean I do the same but I have my first competition Sunday and I'm trying to recap all rules 

3 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

The OP mentioned that nobody was around, so I assume he was playing alone.  If that's the case, he shouldn't be posting the score, so the ESC doesn't really apply.  Even so, I'd have quit hitting from that tee long before I got to my fifth attempt.

If that happens in a competition then it would needed to be written down. Just curious what situation that would bring 

[DaveP043]

In a competition, if the same thing happens, the strokes go as I described earlier, you would have had 14 on the hole.  In a casual round posted for handicap, your maximum score would be 8.  

[Golfz]

OK so I just better work on my swing and hope to never hit a 14 in competition as that would be game over haha. Unless it's a stableford points competition 

[DaveP043]

We have a few stroke play tournaments every year, and every time there are one or two horror stories like yours, and not always with the higher handicappers.  At the end of the day, the best thing you can do is laugh at yourself and move on to the next round.

[Gunther]

34 minutes ago, shanksalot said:

This is where you use that score the USGA recommends when you have that type of score. Depending on handicap you can do that by using ESC equitabe stroke control. 

Course handicap 9 or less doubly bogie,

                             10-19   7

                              20-29   8

                              30-39   9        So instead of 14 you must post an 8 since you are a 22 hcp.

 

This was a par 5. Hcap of 9 or less would be double, which is 7.  Shouldn't he add 1 to 8 (being a 20+) and actually take a 9 or a quad?

[CarlSpackler]

6 minutes ago, Gunther said:

This was a par 5. Hcap of 9 or less would be double, which is 7.  Shouldn't he add 1 to 8 (being a 20+) and actually take a 9 or a quad?

ESC is an absolute number if it is 10 or higher, so it doesn't matter what par is on the hole. For instance, most of the time, my max is 7 which is a double on a par 5, triple on a par 4, and I would rather not discuss a par 3, but I could actually post a quad on a par 3.

Added: It is based on your course handicap, not your handicap index, so it can vary from course to course.

[Gunther]

1 minute ago, CarlSpackler said:

ESC is an absolute number if it is 10 or higher, so it doesn't matter what par is on the hole. 

Oh, I didn't realize that, good to know cuz the way things are going, I'll be up over 10 soon.

Thanks!

[CarlSpackler]

1 minute ago, Gunther said:

Oh, I didn't realize that, good to know cuz the way things are going, I'll be up over 10 soon.

Thanks!

You can use this link to convert your index to a course handicap.