Golf Rule: Provisional Ball in Woods - How Many Strokes?

Question
I was playing a shot dogleg left, first shot landed on the fairway but not a good position,
So second shot it went straight into the woods, to save time if I take a provisional ball near the area of
The woods,  is my next is 3 + 2 ( stroke distance ) = 5 th shot?

Thx

Answer
HI Alvin,

Yes, your next shot after hittingyour provisional would be your 5th. The rule is stroke and distance and many people misunderstand thinking it is a 2 stroke penalty. In actual fact, there's only one penalty shot for a lost ball. You just count all the times you hit the ball and add one penalty shot.

Please visit my site.

www.probablegolfinstruction.com

Best regards,
Ken Tannar