Q.  A player assumes his original ball to be in a water hazard, although there was not reasonable evidence to that effect. Using the option in Rule 26-1a, he plays another ball at the spot from which the original ball was played. He then finds his original ball outside the hazard. What is the ruling?

A.  According to the USGA, "the original ball is lost and the other ball is in play under penalty of stroke and distance" - see Decision 27/17.

Decision 27/17

In general, if a player, after making a stroke, plays a ball under a stroke-and-distance procedure, the original ball is lost and the ball played under penalty of stroke and distance is the ball in play.

Such a position is supported by:

(a) the Definition of "Ball in Play," which provides that a ball substituted for the ball in play becomes the ball in play, whether or not the substitution is permitted;

(b) the Definition of "Lost Ball," which provides that a ball is lost if the player makes a stroke at a substituted ball, e.g., plays another ball under a stroke-and-distance procedure; and

(c) Rule 27-2a, which provides: "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."

>View More Golf Rules