Can any one please advise on the correct procedure when you hit a ball OOB in a foursome?? Do you hit again, as the penalty implies or does your partner hit as you should alternate shots?

Your partner plays the next shot.

29-1 General In a threesome or a foursome, during any stipulated round the partners must play alternately from the teeing grounds and alternately during the play of each hole. Penalty strokes do not affect the order of play.

May I take up this topic and ask further.

Before the ball is determined as OOB, can the foursome play a provisional? Who then plays the provisional, I presume it is the partner, correct?

If original ball not found, continue alternately.
If original ball found, then all provisional strokes abandoned, and still the partner would hit the second shot. correct?

Many thanks for the clarification.

Exactly right shank.
Paul

Riddle me this though.
You hit a ball that might be lost or OOB.
Your partner hits a provisional.
You find the original ball but it is unplayable.
There is nowhere to drop so back to the tee you go (as the provisional ball cannot now be used).
Is your partner still hitting the next shot?
Paul

Thanks Paulyboy.

If you said my presumption on the provisional is correct, and as the next shot for the original ball is still to be hit by the partner, (since all provisional shots are now abandoned), the unplayable shot is to be hit by the partner. Penalty does not affect the order of play, so as he has not made a shot yet, so back to the tee he goes and the partner plays the third shot. How’s the reasoning?

Shank

Erm… why is the provisional no longer playable? Isn’t that the reason for playing a provisional, incase the 1st shot is lost or OOB?

A provisional ball (PB) is played when it is thought that the original ball (OB) may be lost (outside a water hazard) or OOB. If the OB is found in bounds then it remains the ball in play regardless of whether it is “playable” or not. When the OB is found the PB must be abandoned, it cannot be used as a “proxy” next stroke for an unplayable relief.

The provisional was played to save time, in case the original ball is lost or out of bounds, to walk back to the last spot and play another ball.

If the original ball is found, the provisional ball must be abandoned, as per Rule 27-2c. If the original is unplayable, that is another matter, but you cannot play the provisional unless you get into the situation of 27-2b.

Hope that clarifies.

That does clarify it a little. ;)

I was in exactly this situation in a pennant match.
Hit a provisional off the 17th tee (we were all square) as I thought the 1st might be lost. We found my first, but it was unplayable and there was nowhere to legally drop, 2 club lengths didn’t get me out of the poop, and I couldn’t go backwards either.
I thought I could just play my provisional out but the referee made me go back and hit yet another drive. At the time I thought it was really silly, but later once calm (and having lost the match…lol) I realised that if I had a provisional in play it might make my decision to declare my ball unplayable easier. Making the choice to rehit from the tee and risk hitting another one in the poop is a slightly harder decision.
Paul

Just highlights another advantage the Pro’s have over us mortals.

9 times out of 10 they at least can find their ball due to the heaps of spectators et al that look for their abll with them (or even move boulders a la Tiger and his “loose impediment”)

Don’t know how many pro’s have to go back to the tee box to tee off again due to something like this apart from possibly Andres Romero in this years Masters.

From memory Mickelson had to cop stroke & distance at this year’s British Open. Not even a crowd like that could save him where he dared to go! Lost balls seem to happen more often than you would expect given the numbers in the galleries.