"He started the round by playing a lunch ball off of the 1st tee"

John Hussar of PRNewsWorks submitted this item to the Desert Sun:

Playing at Eldorado Country Club in January, Baker-Finch shot the 61 (32-29) from the tips - two shots better than the new Fazio-course record of 63. Without hitting any practice balls at Eldorado, he started the round by playing a lunch ball off of the 1st tee which officially kept him from claiming the course record.

Okay, I give up. What's a lunch ball?