Rules of Golf - Rule 27: Ball Lost or Out of Bounds;
Provisional Ball
27-1. Ball
Lost or Out of Bounds
If a ball is lost or is out of bounds, the player must play a ball,
under penalty of one stroke, as nearly as possible at the spot from
which the original ball was last played (see Rule 20-5).
Exceptions:
1. If there is reasonable evidence that the original ball is lost in a
water hazard, the player must proceed in accordance with Rule 26-1.
2. If there is reasonable evidence that the original ball is lost in an
obstruction (Rule 24-3) or an abnormal ground condition (Rule 25-1c) the
player may proceed under the applicable Rule.
PENALTY FOR BREACH OF RULE 27-1:
Match play — Loss of hole; Stroke play — Two strokes.
27-2.
Provisional Ball
a. Procedure
If a ball may be lost outside a water hazard or may be out of bounds, to
save time the player may play another ball provisionally in accordance
with Rule 27-1. The player must inform his opponent in match play or his
marker or a fellow-competitor in stroke play that he intends to play a
provisional ball, and he must play it before he or his partner goes
forward to search for the original ball.
If he fails to do so and plays another ball, that ball is not a
provisional ball and becomes the ball in play under penalty of stroke
and distance (Rule 27-1); the original ball is lost.
(Order of play from teeing ground — see Rule 10-3.)
Note: If a provisional ball played under Rule 27-2a might be lost
outside a water hazard or out of bounds, the player may play another
provisional ball. If another provisional ball is played, it bears the
same relationship to the previous provisional ball as the first
provisional ball bears to the original.
b. When Provisional Ball Becomes Ball in Play
The player may play a provisional ball until he reaches the place where
the original ball is likely to be. If he makes a stroke with the
provisional ball from the place where the original ball is likely to be
or from a point nearer the hole than that place, the original ball is
lost and the provisional ball becomes the ball in play under penalty of
stroke and distance (Rule 27-1).
If the original ball is lost outside a water hazard or is out of bounds,
the provisional ball becomes the ball in play, under penalty of stroke
and distance (Rule 27-1).
If there is reasonable evidence that the original ball is lost in a
water hazard, the player must proceed in accordance with Rule 26-1.
Exception: If there is reasonable evidence that the original ball is
lost in an obstruction (Rule 24-3) or an abnormal ground condition (Rule
25-1c) the player may proceed under the applicable Rule.
c. When Provisional Ball to Be Abandoned
If the original ball is neither lost nor out of bounds, the player must
abandon the provisional ball and continue playing the original ball. If
he makes any further strokes at the provisional ball, he is playing a
wrong ball and the provisions of Rule 15 apply.
Note: If a player plays a provisional ball under Rule 27-2a, the strokes
made after this Rule has been invoked with a provisional ball abandoned
under Rule 27-2c and penalty strokes incurred solely by playing that
ball are disregarded.
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