Interested in the Rules? Want to help out at your club or an SCGA event? Come to one of the SCGA Rules Workshops and you can find out more while improving your Rules knowledge! here.
February 26, 2026
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Interested in the Rules? Want to help out at your club or an SCGA event? Come to one of the SCGA Rules Workshops and you can find out more while improving your Rules knowledge! here.
Rules Crew! I hit my tee shot left into the trees, and I was not sure if I would find it, so I played a provisional ball and it went into the same area. I went forward and found both balls next to each other but they were both the same brand and number and I could not tell them apart. What do I do?
-Lydia, Valencia
Lydia, you are in quite the predicament and this is more common than you think! The Rules have this situation covered but it may be an answer you don't like. Rule 18.3c (2) is going to let you pick one of the balls, treat it as the provisional and it becomes the ball in play. The other ball is treated as lost in this scenario. So you will be now playing your fourth stroke.
The short version: Always remember to distinguish the original ball from the provisional ball by using different identification marks, brands or numbers so you do not get the worst of this situation!
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