[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald

As I said, those diagrams are a little sketchy. The yellow is showing a shot from the fairway and the red is showing a shot from the tee. The issue that comes into play is the equitable distance. The black line in the yellow stakes is on line with tee and the line where you're able to drop. The red stake diagram shows where you may drop with two clubs (on the white line where the ball crossed the hazard). The black line is the line of relief by which a player may move back to their preferred distance while not being closer to the hole.

It's not at all clear where the tee is in the first diagram. I could be a dog left right or left or straight and it doesn't matter. All that matters is the black line lines up with point of entry and the flag.

It appears I don't have to. Your own article repeats what I told you.

"... hence the player must inform his opponent, marker or fellow-competitor that he intends to play a provisional ball, and he must play it before he goes forward to search for the original ball."

"If the player fails to make it clear that he intends to play a provisional ball and plays another ball, that ball is not a provisional ball; instead it becomes the ball in play under penalty of stroke and distance (Rule 18.3b)."

This is what we've said all along. If the intent is to play a provisional, then you have to declare that intent. The opposite is not true. If you don't say anything, you've abandoned your first shot and the next ball is in play with a stroke and distance penalty.

The following is exactly why you must announce intent.

"If it transpires that the original ball is lost outside of a penalty area or out of bounds, you must continue with the provisional ball, under penalty of stroke and distance. If the original ball is found in bounds, you must continue with that ball and stop playing the provisional ball."

What happens when you hit a ball that you think is OB and you re-tee without a proclamation of intent? Your competitors have no idea what you're doing, the rules officials have no idea what you're doing, and they proceed to go under their own assumptions. They go down range and find your "lost ball" in a world of hurt with the expectation you now have to play from that position, probably taking a bigger number. Do you get to claim you already hit a ball and you now lie three?

This isn't ambiguous. If you say nothing, the second ball is in play no matter what.

Or on the other side of that coin, you blast one into the trees and play a second ball that you hit really poorly, but you find you got a massive bounce on your first ball and it's in position A. Do you get to choose to ignore that second ball and claim provisional? It is exactly why intent needs to be announced and why the article supports the practice. It is to prevent confusion and he-said-he-said arguments on the course and playing rounds under protest.

Again, if you say nothing, the second ball is in play no matter what.

I'm not saying it's not a good idea to let everyone know for sure that you've abandoned that shot, because it is somewhat unusual not to hit a provisional in that case, but there is no rule infraction or possibility of DQ if you don't say anything and play your second ball.

Along these if you do announce a provisional and hit a good one and get up there and see it is really gnarly for your first ball went and you don't want to look for it, then you don't have to look for it. There is no process at that point to declare it lost and if someone else finds it in bounds, then you have to go and play it or take unplayable lie, or abandon both balls and go to the tee and hit your 3rd shot off the tee again.