At a short hole, Player A’s tee shot may be out of bounds or lost, so he plays a provisional ball, which he holes. Player A does not wish to look for his original ball. Player B who is Player A’s opponent or a fellow-competitor, goes to look for the original ball.
When does the provisional ball become the ball in play?
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In equity (Rule 1-4), the provisional ball becomes the ball in play as soon as Player A picks it out of the hole, provided his original ball has not already been found in bounds within five minutes of Player B starting to search for it.
[quote]Rule 1-4. Points Not Covered by Rules – If any point in dispute is not covered by the Rules, the decision should be made in accordance with equity.[/quote]
This scenario is an example of a situation that is not covered by any specific golf rule. Instead it is covered by what’s known as “equity” which simply means how the Ruling Committee – who made up the official Rules of Golf – would have ruled in the spirit of the game.
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