Too many provisional balls hit

Question
I play with a guy who hits too many provisional balls.  He uses the provisional as practice, knowing the first ball is not truly in danger of being lost.  Extreme cases are when the group can actually SEE the original ball, but he drops another and declares a provisional.  What's the ruling here?  It is annoying to say the least, and I'd like to reference a ruling to stop this behavior from occurring.

Answer
Dear Eric,
Thanks for asking this question.

The rule 27-2 is describing about Provisional ball.

Definition: A second ball played by a golfer who believes his first ball may be lost (but not in a water hazard) or out of bounds.
The penalty for a lost ball or OB is stroke plus distance. That is, the player takes a one stroke penalty and returns to the spot from which the ball was struck and hits again.

So a provisional ball is a timesaver. Rather than first going forward to search, the player announces he is hitting a provisional. If the original ball is then found, the original ball is played. If the original ball really is lost or OB, the provisional is played with a one-stroke penalty.

In your friend's case, it is reasonably true that he is abusing the rule for practicing ball especailly when the group can actually SEE the original ball. Golf is a game of integrity and honor among players, you have to tell him that he can not declare a provisional ball.  

Thanks, and sorry for delay.

Dan