rules clarification

Question
Hit my (errant) tee shot into heavily wooded area - noone saw it drop - I elected to hit provisional to speed up play (in a comp). Hit a fabulous provisional and was very keen to progress straight to it to play my 4th. On the way, my eagle eyed partner said "there it is".
What are my options as on closer inspection it was unplayable as it had a big piece of wood on it which could not be removed. FYI any penalty drop would have put me in a worse position if you can imagine that.
(1) Can I hit my provisional after my playing partner has "found it". (2) If I have to play the first ball (I assume the provisional ball is no longer in play as the first one has been "found") and call it unplayable - where do I hit my next shot from? I assume I cannot go back to the tee again?

Answer
Hello Marie:

Good questions Marie.  Bad break for you.  Since your "partner" found it (I presume within the 5 minutes allowed), you must play your original ball.  Provisional ball is no longer valid.  If you declare your ball unplayable, you have 3 options.  First, you can take 2 clublengths from WHERE THE BALL LIES, any direction, not closer to the hole.  If that is not a good option, next would be to keep the ball (point of where the ball is) between you and the hole and you can go back as far as you want to on that line and drop a ball within two club lengths.  Or as always is the last resort, you could go back to where you hit your original ball from, in this case the tee.  You are charged a one shot penalty for taking relief from an unplayable lie, you would drop and be hitting your third shot.  If you elect to go back to the tee, you could re-tee it.  There are no other options for this rule.  

Eddie Kilthau
PGA Professional