Rules on the course

When Does a Provisional Ball Become the Ball in Play?

A provisional is not a second ball you may choose whenever it looks better. Announce it correctly, track its status and know what ends that provisional status.

Competition

Competitive Play · Updated October 22, 2026

Locate the provisional stroke

Original fictional hole and score branches

The stroke location decides the comparison

Assume the original may be lost outside a penalty area, a provisional was clearly announced, the permitted search period has not expired, and no other provision has already made it the ball in play. E is an alternative comparison position, not an extra stroke in the A-to-B sequence.

Provisional ball: farther, equal and nearer positionsThe dotted 200-yard arc passes through original estimate O and alternative E. A is outside it at 240 yards; B is inside at 150. The dashed A-to-B path shows that rolling nearer is different from making a stroke from the nearer spot.

The dotted arc is an equal-distance comparison, not a relief area. Position and distance are declared teaching inputs; this is not a surveyed hole or a new Local Rule.

H
Hole: every comparison is distance to H, not distance walked from the tee.
T
Tee, 400 yards from H. The original is stroke 1; a clearly announced provisional is then played.
O
Original ball estimated at 200 yards from H. This is an estimate, not a found-ball marker.
A
Provisional lies 240 yards from H: a stroke from A alone does not end its provisional status.
E
Alternative position exactly 200 yards from H: the same-distance provision also permits another provisional stroke.
B
Provisional lies 150 yards from H. Its arrival here does not alone decide status; making a stroke from B triggers the nearer-spot provision.

Keep the two score branches separate

  1. Original tee stroke: 1. The provisional tee stroke would be stroke 3 if that ball's score counts: original stroke + stroke-and-distance penalty + provisional stroke.
  2. Playing the provisional from A would be stroke 4 if counted; suppose it finishes at B. It has not become the ball in play solely because it finished nearer.
  3. If the original is found and identified in time before the provisional becomes the ball in play, abandon the provisional. Its strokes and penalties solely for that ball do not count; the next original-ball stroke is 2.
  4. If the player instead makes the next stroke from B under these assumptions, the nearer-spot provision makes the provisional the ball in play; that stroke is 5. A lost-original outcome can make it the ball in play separately, even before that nearer stroke.

Current Rule 18.3c distinguishes the stroke from the ball's arrival or the player's walk. Search-time interruption scenarios are not illustrated here; current clarifications and a referee's chronology/score review remain separate gates.

The short version

  • It must be a situation where a provisional is allowed.
  • Use “provisional” or communicate the provisional intention clearly.
  • A stroke from nearer the hole than the estimated original position can make it live.

Keep an original-ball branch open

If Ava finds and identifies her original on the course outside a penalty area within the permitted search time, before the provisional has become the ball in play, she must continue with the original. The provisional’s strokes and penalties solely associated with that abandoned ball do not count.

If the ordinary search expires without finding it, the lost-ball outcome changes the provisional’s status. A ball found within the search time can still need prompt identification; the rules allow a reasonable identification period in that circumstance.

Measure status by the stroke location

In the fictional hole, A is 240 yards from the hole and the original is estimated at 200. Playing from A is not the same as playing from B at 150. An alternative position E exactly 200 yards from the hole is also within the same-distance provision. It is the location from which the further provisional stroke is made that matters. Merely walking ahead or where the ball has rolled does not substitute for that event.

If the original is found after the provisional has become the ball in play, it is no longer the ball you may resume playing. Finding it in a lovely lie does not reopen the choice.

Do not use a provisional for a certain penalty-area ball

A provisional is available when the ball might be lost outside a penalty area or out of bounds. If the only possible missing location is a penalty area, use that rule rather than casually calling another ball provisional. Other known-or-virtually-certain outcomes have specific exceptions.

For a missing ball among leaves, check the separate leaf Local Rule question. If a ball at rest is subsequently displaced, use movement rules.

Official sources

Official provisions checked October 22, 2026. Read their full wording and current event conditions.

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