[yasalaioqe]

Playing in a tournament a while ago...1st hole..Guy hits 1st and hooks his ball into a canal clearly marked with red stakes..We all saw it go in. He decides to hit a provisional, which he slices into a water hazard, clearly marked with red stakes. Again we all saw it go in. He said he's hitting another provisional..This slices into the same hazard. He then declares he's going to the hazard on the left where the 1st ball ended up and will drop a ball and will be hitting 3. We all looked at ourselves confused. This didn't sound right. Because the guy was a rules "nazi" who stated he knows all the rules, and he shot a 114 (group was a 13-15 handicap), we didn't bring it up after the round. What is the correct ruling? Thanks.....

[Lxbsvksl]

1) You are not allowed to play a provisional ball if your ball is thought to be in a hazard. Each successive provisional ball he played became the ball in play and added 2 strokes to his score for stroke and distance penalty (1 in the water, 2 out - 3 in the water, 4 out - 5 in the water, 6 out. He is in the hazard with his 5th stroke and dropping 6, hitting 7.

2) If he didn't use the reference point where the last ball crossed the margin of the hazard for his drop, then he also played from a wrong place. By doing that he incurred an additional 2 stroke penalty, so after playing that 7th stroke from a wrong place, he would be lying 9, and I'm thinking still nowhere near the hole.

[FelikTen]

I came up with the same numbers but didn't know you couldn't hit a provisional if the original is thought to be in a hazard (although he said they all saw it go in). I thought you could hit a provisional in case the original was in a hazard (i.e., looks like it but not quite sure).

You're a good man to have around, Fourputt.

[Wheldcobchoto]

1) You are not allowed to play a provisional ball if your ball is thought to be in a hazard. Each successive provisional ball he played became the ball in play and added 2 strokes to his score for stroke and distance penalty (1 in the water, 2 out - 3 in the water, 4 out - 5 in the water, 6 out. He is in the hazard with his 5th stroke and dropping 6, hitting 7.

2) If he didn't use the reference point where the last ball crossed the margin of the hazard for his drop, then he also played from a wrong place. By doing that he incurred an additional 2 stroke penalty, so after playing that 7th stroke from a wrong place, he would be lying 9, and I'm thinking still nowhere near the hole.

+2. This is correct. NO provisional when it comes to balls in a hazard (red and yellow). I think if the ball is clearly in the hazard, you could, to save time, go ahead and drop at the same spot as the shot that went in, which is one option when in a hazard.

[yasalaioqe]

We all saw the 1st ball enter the hazard...big splash..He did drop his ball near the spot where it entered the hazard and proceeded from there like the provisional balls didn't count. This was my first year in the tournament and didn't want to make waves when I wasn't sure of the ruling..And the guy was a bully, telling us he made the correct play..Like I said, he thought he was a rules guru and knew them all..I just thought the provisional balls should be counted but wasn't sure...Thanks for the clarification. It makes sense the way you explain it...

[OnerePeepsy]

Looks like he found a way to do what we all want. Hit as many golf balls as possible,and write down the lowest number as possible. Sounds like he got a good value for the round.......

My buddy is like that, he rubs everybody the wrong way. The thing with him is once you stand up to him he starts to respect you. He's a good buddy, but i keep trying to tell him that he enforces such a weird standard on how to act around him that he just doesn't see.