'Hit A Provisional Or Take The NR' – Why The Return-To-Tee Rule Needs To Go

I experienced something on the golf course last weekend that epitomises why golf has a slow play problem.

I have written extensively about this in the past, including a 12-point plan to solve the pace of play issue and 5 signs you are part of the slow play problem, but some golfers still appear to be totally oblivious (or simply don’t care) - and it really grinds my gears.

One huge factor in causing a slow play pile up on the course is when a player returns to the tee after not finding their ball.

My stance on this is clear: hit a provisional or take the NR.

Perhaps I am being harsh or unfair, but I will explain the circumstances around this particular incident below and you can be the jury. Let me know what your verdict is in the comments section below this article…

Why The Return-to-Tee Rule In Golf Needs to Go

Let’s set the scene. I was playing at a course that I’ve never visited before, but despite a lack of course knowledge and intermittent torrential downpours, it was all going fairly well.

Early in the back nine we had caught up with the group ahead, who we hadn’t seen for most of the round to that point. The final few holes were slow and it became clear that the group ahead clearly didn’t care much about slow play.

The straw that broke the camel's back occurred on the 16th hole, however.

After arriving at the tee box and waiting five minutes, we were almost ready to tee off. Suddenly, we saw a figure emerge from the trees on the left, about 200 yards up the fairway.

It became clear that it was a player who was jogging back towards the tee, with a driver, glove and golf ball in his hands. I knew what was about to happen!

After taking another two minutes to ‘run’ back to the tee, the player then explained that he had lost his tee ball and needed to hit another shot.

He hadn’t hit a provisional ball - strike one. He didn’t really seem to care about the fact we had already been waiting for ages - strike two.

He then went behind our group to the white tees, suggesting that perhaps he was playing in the members’ competition.

After composing himself after the exertion of running back, and with four sets of fairly fed up eyes on him, he proceeded to tug that ball straight into the same trees.

That was always going to happen, wasn’t it?

The chances of him striping one down the middle under that sort of pressure and physical duress were slim, which essentially doubles the delay for zero reward.

Anyway, no provisional ball was hit that time either - strike three. Now, I was fuming.

As he jogged back up the fairway to look for that ball, we were ticking up to 10 minutes on the tee box.

There was no wave to us to play up and there was no suggestion that his friends were looking for his ball while he made his way back.

In that situation, there is no way I could go back to the tee if I hadn't hit a provisional ball. The way I see it, if I lost my ball in the trees, which is completely plausible, and I didn’t hit a provisional - that’s my own fault.

My options are to not score on that hole (Stableford), enter a NR (medal) or stroke-and-distance relief for a two-shot penalty if the local rule applies (casual round).

In terms of complying with the rules of the game, perhaps he did the right thing. But, in my opinion, that rule needs to go.

Clearly, if this person was a professional in a competition there would be a need to finish every hole - but we are talking amateur golf here, folks.

I want to believe that they were playing in the competition, and that he was having an absolutely unreal round up until that point, as then I can understand to an extent - despite not agreeing.

The decision to return to the tee showed a flagrant disregard for pace of play and basic etiquette.

It’s not all about you. There are groups of players behind you and why should they be held up because you didn’t make a sensible decision on the tee box.

Hitting a provisional ball takes 30 seconds, and significantly less effort than jogging up and down the fairway.

There was a group playing behind us who were now queuing up on the same tee box, and the group behind them had played their tee shots on the par-3 15th. This put our group under unnecessary pressure too, which is never conducive to playing good golf.

The impact on others who have to wait for 10-15 minutes on the tee box to play their next hole is significant, so if you ever find yourself in that situation please do two things: Hit a provisional ball if there is any doubt about finding your first one and stop being selfish - take your medicine, learn from it and move on.