“lost” ball options in 2-man rotation

[BMGA]

Playing in the 2-man rotation this weekend, on hole #18 my partner’s drive went down the tree line between 18 and 9 fairways. We were pretty certain the ball landed in bounds near the path just past the trees, maybe 100 yards short of the 18 green. Just in case, I played a provisional tee shot (hitting 3.) Another public group playing 9 gathered in about the spot of four first tee shot. They played from that location, clearly on the 18 side of the OB markers and near the cart path. We could not find the first tee shot, although we found three other balls in the vicinity. We yelled ahead to the group leaving the green on 9 and they all said they had their own balls. We doubt this but did nothing more to confirm. We played the provisional to hole (and not very well I might add!) We ended up with a tie for first but felt a bit let down by the rules. I assume we played this according to rules. Were there any other options? Could the other twosome in our group have granted relief? (They were in a different flight so they were unaffected by the ruling.)

[Roger Hamm]

Good question. I think this could use some discussion. Certainly a good call to hit a provisional. In related news, I had a similar situation in single man match play when my ball was not found, general public in the area, and 2 other ball were found. I chose to concede the hole instead of going back to hit #3.

My knee-jerk reaction is that your playing partners could not grant relief due to it being a stroke play event. Match play, they could.

[Author]

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