a) Procedure
In counting play, a competitor who, when playing a hole, is in doubt as to his rights or how he should play, may finish the hole with two balls without penalty.
After the situation giving rise to the doubt has arisen, the competitor must announce to his counter or to a competitor that he intends to play two balls and which ball is to apply, if the rules permit, before taking any further action.
Before submitting his score card, the contestant must report the facts to the match management. If he fails to do so, he is disqualified.
Note: If the contestant acts before dealing with the doubtful situation, rule 3-3 does not apply. The result with the original ball counts, or, if the original ball is not one of the golf balls played, the result with the ball first put into play counts, even if the rules do not allow the procedure with this ball. However, the competitor does not incur a penalty for playing a second ball and any penalty strokes incurred solely by playing the second ball are not added to his score. Example: The player decides to play a ball from the ground in touch, hits the ball badly and only gets a few meters further.
Now he can no longer claim that he did not know whether he would have received penalty-free relief and therefore play a regulation ball, because he was already aware of the situation before his shot from the ground in mending.
b) Number of strokes for the hole
(I) If the rules permit play with the ball selected by the applicant in advance, the number of strokes with the selected ball is deemed to be his number of strokes for the hole. Otherwise, the stroke count with the other ball applies if the rules permit the method chosen with that ball.
(II) If the competitor fails to announce in advance that he intends to finish the hole with two balls or which ball is to apply, the stroke count with the original ball shall apply, provided it was played in accordance with the rules. If the original ball is not one of the balls played, the first ball put into play applies, provided it was played in accordance with the rules. Otherwise, the stroke count with the other ball applies if the rules permit the procedure chosen with the other ball.
Note 1: If a competitor plays a second ball under Rule 3-3, strokes made after the application of that rule with the ball that is not scored are not counted, and penalty strokes made only when playing that ball are disregarded.
Note 2: A second ball played under Rule 3-3 is not a provisional ball under Rule 27-2.
Status: 2018