Hypothetical Situations- Rulings

[BC MIST]

so you get to pick the best one and are lying 3? That doesn't make sense. Since both balls are found the provisional isn't being used. You shouldn't be allowed to pick the "best" ball in any situation, in fact that's what most of the sticky rules are designed to avoid IMO, so I don't see how you have a ball in play, unless they just invented a rule to deal with the situation which I find surprising. Usually once things get out of hand it's "back to the tee box with ye!"

The rule makes perfect sense if you look at it from another point of view. He hit and found both of his balls. One was the original and one was the provisional and since they cannot be distinguished, he gets the "worser" of the two evils, and is now hitting 4. Or, if he chooses the ball ion the hazard, he is hitting 5. If the provisional was in the hazard, and the original in the rough, he would be hitting 2, so for not marking the balls, he effectively gets a 2 stroke penalty.

Now, if both balls are lost outside the hazard, then he properly goes back to the tee and hits 5, which is what you want for the above. But, it makes no sense to EQUATE losing two balls to finding both balls 250 yards from the tee. The punishment should suit the crime and the way the rule works, effects that principle.

[Wknd_Warrior]

It still strokes me as one of those things we would think is "fair" but the rules would not allow. I think he should be hitting 3 from the tee after investigating the two balls. The provisional is out since no ball is lost. And because he can't properly identify the original ball he must abandon it and put another ball in play, so he still may be hitting 4 from about the same area but has to put something he finds and can identify in play first.

In choosing the worse of two evils and hitting 4 isn't he in efect playing the second ball? But since it isn't a valid provisional anymore I don't see how he can do that.

I see the logic but I don't see how the rule book does.

Even if he can declare the first ball lost so the provisional is valid, he is still choosing the best of two balls for his next shot.

[AAA]

WW
This is almost unique in that the player has a choice of ball. The RBs are trying not be be overly punitive by taking this approach.
As the ball(s) cannot be identified, they are by definition, lost. Rather than requiring the player to play another off the tee with additional S&D, they have said that as one of the balls is the provisional the player should be able to play it. But which one ? In this case only the player can choose. There aren't enough ROs in the world to accompany every player on the course just in case.
If the player was simply allowed to abandon both balls without penalty this would cause problems with the allocation and understanding of penalties for 'losing' a ball.
Apart from anything else, going back to the tee would cause exactly the time problem that the provisional rule was introduced to overcome.

[Kilroy]

I had one ball in my bag that I put a big 2 on before an important match. I used it as my provisional for the rest of the season and never lost it. I found it in my bag a few weeks ago, all battered and worn so I finally threw it away.