lost ball (didn't play provisional)

[nokids]

Greensmere hole #6 white, par 5, I hit my driver on the left side of the fairway between two large hills. To the left is another fairway, there's no water in this area so I thought for sure I would find the ball. My ball went the farthest of everyone in our group, so by the time it was my turn to hit, the group behind us was already on the tee waiting to hit their first shot. I get to the area and there is no ball in sight. They had recently mowed the grass and it's possible the ball was under some of it. There was an irrigation hole in the area but I wasn't going to stick my hand in it. I wanted to go back to the tee and hit a second ball, but the marshall was reminding our group to speed up play, apparently we were really slow because he reminded us several times. So I dropped a ball where the ball landed. I knew what I was doing was not legit, but I figured I'd add up my penalties afterwards. I got a 5 on the hole (without adding any penalties or any strokes for the drop). So what is my score? 8 ? My ESC lets me take triple bogey as my worst score.

Thank you.

[Kilroy]

Your score is an X or no score at all since you did not complete the hole by the book.

Esc 8 (tripple for your 'cap) on the hole for your handicap but no non-ESC gross score for the round. Worse things can happen.

[goochy]

I did the same sort of thing last night. Hit a tee shot to a fairly inocuous area just left of fairway, stroll up there and can't find my ball for the life of me....there was no hazard or OOB, I just couldn't find it!

Luckily I had the course pretty much to myself so I just went back to the tee and took my medicine. However, I have wondered about this before. If the course is busy the opportunity to go back and rehit is not always realistic, and unless you think your ball might be lost why would you play a provisional. I guess as Kilroy said all you can do is enter your max under ESC but sometimes following the rules is a little harder than we would like.

[Hacker]

That is one of the problems with playing crowded public courses on the weekend......especially when you have marshals trying to keep people to 4 hour rounds. Oh well, we've all had to take the dreaded "X" from time to time.

[Kilroy]

Just take the X - AKA medicine. Chances are by returning to the tee you'd be there anyway. Of course if there is any doubt from the tee please hit a provisional.

[jvincent]

Esc 8 (tripple for your 'cap) on the hole for your handicap but no non-ESC gross score for the round. Worse things can happen.

Actually for a hole not played according to the Rules he should record par + the number of handicap strokes he would receive.

For a 20 course handicap that means a double at worst.

[Kilroy]

I stand corrected, but it's not quite that simple it seems...

From The handicap manual

4-1. Unfinished Holes and Conceded Strokes

A player who starts, but does not complete a hole or is conceded a stroke must record for handicap purposes the most likely score. The most likely score may not exceed the player’s Equitable Stroke Control limit, defi ned in Section 4-3. This most likely score should be preceded by an "X." (See Decision 4-1/1.) There is no limit to the number of unfi nished holes a player may have in a round, provided that failure to fi nish is not for the purpose of handicap manipulation.

Example 1: A and B are partners in a four-ball stroke-play competition. On a hole on which neither player receives a handicap stroke, A lies two, 18 feet from the hole. B lies two, 25 feet from the hole. B holes a putt for a 3. A picks up on the hole, because A cannot better B’s score. A records X-4 on the scorecard because 4 is A’s most likely score.

Example 2: A and B are playing a match. On a hole on which neither player receives a handicap stroke, A has holed out in 4; B has a 30-foot putt for a 5. B has lost the hole, and picks up. B records X-6 on the scorecard because 6 is B’s most likely score

Example 3: A and B are playing a match. On a hole on which neither player receives a handicap stroke, A is one foot from the hole, lying 4. B is 10 feet from the hole, lying 3. B putts and misses. They both concede a half. Both players record X-5 because that is their most likely score.

4-2. Holes Not Played or Not Played Under The Rules of Golf
If a player does not play a hole or plays it other than under The Rules of Golf (except for preferred lies), the score recorded for that hole for handicap purposes must be par plus any handicap strokes the player is entitled to receive on that hole. This hole score, when recorded, should be preceded by an "X."

Example: A player with a Course Handicap of 10 receives a handicap stroke on the fi rst 10 allocated handicap-stroke holes. If the player does not play the sixth allocated handicap-stroke hole which is a par 4 because of construction on the green, the player must record a score of par plus one for handicap purposes, or X-5. (See Section 5-2b.)

Note: A score must not be posted if the majority of the holes are not played under the principles of The Rules of Golf.

[jvincent]

In the particular situation nokids posted I would say 4-2 applies, since he did not play according to the Rules.

The interesting thing is that by doing this he actually should have recorded a LOWER score for handicapping purposes than what his likely score on the hole would have been.

[Kilroy]

That's where 4-1 comes into play I'd think.

[jvincent]

He finished the hole, but not according to the Rules, so I say 4-2.

[Kilroy]

In match play he's conceeding the hole, so his most likeley score would be the one to card for handicap.
In stroke play IMHO in this case I'd hink most likely a max as in 4-1 example 1
You virtually never see people pick up in a stroke play copmpetition since you'd be DQ'd on the day without a score.

[jvincent]

Agree on the match play scenario.

If he's just playing, i.e. not a competition, there is no DQ possibility. So in that scenario he's not playing the hole according to the Rules, which is where 4-2 comes in.

I don't disagree that his likely score if he had finished the hole according to the Rules would have likely been a triple, I'm just making the point that according to the handicapping manual I'm pretty sure he would record an X-7.

[nokids]

Just take the X - AKA medicine. Chances are by returning to the tee you'd be there anyway. Of course if there is any doubt from the tee please hit a provisional.

thanks for the rules breakdown. i will put 8 just to be safe. after hitting the shot, i never thought for a second that i lost this ball. i was soooo when i couldn't find it and couldn't walk back to the tee. oh well, i channelled my anger to shoot the best score ever at greensmere. 88 from black.

[DenisO]

I've had that happen to me a couple times, completely puzzled by where my ball ended up since I see it bounce in the fairway and don't think it's possible to lose it. Up until now I'd drop another ball where I last saw it bounce and not take a penalty stroke, although I'm making it my goal this season (besides improving a ton), to try to play by the rules as strictly as I can. Time to start reading the rulebook

Nice job on the 88 though nokids, impressive even with a triple

[nokids]

Nice job on the 88 though nokids, impressive even with a triple

thanks. two triples and a double. the rest were pars and bogeys.