I seem to remember this topic discussed in a recent thread (but can’t find the thread).

Could someone point me to the thread, or alternatively provide an opinion/answer.

Player hits ball into rough. Finds 2 identical balls in the area and cannot identify which is his. What is the ruling here?

Thanks, Peter.

Your ball is LOST

An interesting twist , if youd hit BOTH those balls there ..1 being a provisional

Then you get to pick which ball you want to play , but your next shot is your 4th

Ball must be considered lost dec27/10

but isn’t it correct that if you hit the wrong ball from a hazard you can just return and hit the right ball with no penalty?

That used to be the case, changed earlier this year as identification might not have been possible after the next shot if the ball ended up irretrievable (lost, OOBs,...)

Now you’re allowed to lift in a hazard for identification, and indeed will be penalised if you hit a wrong ball.

Your ball is LOST

An interesting twist , if youd hit BOTH those balls there ..1 being a provisional

Then you get to pick which ball you want to play , but your next shot is your 4th

No way!
You’re suggesting that you can pick one, and hit it, and it is deemed as the provvy, and so is the 4th stroke?
Nope, you cannot ID your provvy.
And any stroke made at a “wrong ball” is not counted as a stroke.
Back you go fella and hit your 2nd off the tee – third shot.

peter

This happened in a comp I was playing in… guy tees off. Other guy tees off into dead bush, so plays a second “ball in play” but doesn’t mark it.
They get down there only to find the original guy had not marked his either, so they could not split them. Same balls, same number. Who the hell plays without marking the ball.

peter

Your ball is LOST

An interesting twist , if youd hit BOTH those balls there ..1 being a provisional

Then you get to pick which ball you want to play , but your next shot is your 4th

No way!
You’re suggesting that you can pick one, and hit it, and it is deemed as the provvy, and so is the 4th stroke?
Nope, you cannot ID your provvy.
And any stroke made at a “wrong ball” is not counted as a stroke.
Back you go fella and hit your 2nd off the tee – third shot.

peter

Actually it is right. Go to the R & A or USGA sites and look up Decision 27/11.

Decision 27/11: ” One could argue that both balls are lost. However, it would be inequitable to require the player to return to the tee, playing 5, when the player has found both balls but does not know which is the original and which the provisional. Accordingly, the player must select one of the balls, treat it as his provisional ball and abandon the other.”

Thanks for that…. more goose for me.

peter

For reference…

(from Decision 27/11)
One could argue that both balls are lost. However, it would be inequitable to require the player to return to the tee, playing 5, when the player has found both balls but does not know which is the original and which the provisional. Accordingly, the player must select one of the balls, treat it as his provisional ball and abandon the other.

Your ball is LOST

An interesting twist , if youd hit BOTH those balls there ..1 being a provisional

Then you get to pick which ball you want to play , but your next shot is your 4th

No way!
You’re suggesting that you can pick one, and hit it, and it is deemed as the provvy, and so is the 4th stroke?
Nope, you cannot ID your provvy.
And any stroke made at a “wrong ball” is not counted as a stroke.
Back you go fella and hit your 2nd off the tee – third shot.

peter

I think you are confusing the case of the player himself playing two identical balls (1) ,
with a situation where the player finds his own ball and and another identical ball (2).

(1) If this is the case he gets to choose, and the ball he plays will be considered the provisional. (The Decision mentioned above)
(2) The ball is lost, and the player must return and replay the stroke under Rule 27-1 (and Decision 27/10)

Yeah, something like that… I guess there’s always a real world question that.. if you always play the same make/number/marked ball, and had a tendency to dump a particular shot on a particular hole in a particular spot, finding two of the same might not mean they’re both your current shots, but we’re talking quite unusual behavior as far as ball marking is concerned – and less unusual as far as tendencies for dumping balls in the wrong places at the same spot.

thanks
peter