water hazards

[full_throttle]

Please help.

Red stakes - is it sideways two club lenghts
yellow stakes - as far back as ... in line with entrance to hazard and flag


Had this situation only Wed, my playing partner went into a red staked hazard, he wanted to drop behind more than two club lenghts, I thought it was as above. Happy to be corrected, and give myself a slap on the wrist if I'm wrong

 

[doublebogey7]

Please help.

Red stakes - is it sideways two club lenghts
yellow stakes - as far back as ... in line with entrance to hazard and flag


Had this situation only Wed, my playing partner went into a red staked hazard, he wanted to drop behind more than two club lenghts, I thought it was as above. Happy to be corrected, and give myself a slap on the wrist if I'm wrong

Sorry but you are wrong, where a ball lies in a lateral water hazard (red stakes), in addition to the options you have for water hazards (yellow stakes), you may drop the ball within two clubs lengths of (i) the point where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard or (ii) a point on the opposite margin of the water hazard equidistant from the hole.

 

[Region3]

As far as I understand it you can go back on a line (keeping where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard between you and the flag) as far as you want, but red stakes mean lateral water hazard so the chances are you could have to go back a long way.

Alternative is 2 club lengths from where the ball last crossed the margin, OR 2 club lengths from the spot on the opposite side of the hazard to where the ball last crossed.

So I think you were right UNLESS he was going back on the correct line.

 

[CliveW]

http://www.randa.org/Playing-Golf/Q...-Situations-and-Procedures/Water-Hazards.aspx

Hope that helps.

 

[CliveW]

As far as I understand it you can go back on a line (keeping where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard between you and the flag) as far as you want, but red stakes mean lateral water hazard so the chances are you could have to go back a long way.

Alternative is 2 club lengths from where the ball last crossed the margin, OR 2 club lengths from the spot on the opposite side of the hazard to where the ball last crossed.

So I think you were right UNLESS he was going back on the correct line.

You can also proceed under the stroke and distance provision of Rule 27-1 by playing a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played.

 

[duncan mackie]

Please help.

Red stakes - is it sideways two club lenghts
yellow stakes - as far back as ... in line with entrance to hazard and flag


Had this situation only Wed, my playing partner went into a red staked hazard, he wanted to drop behind more than two club lenghts, I thought it was as above. Happy to be corrected, and give myself a slap on the wrist if I'm wrong

this is a very common cause for confusion, but I still don't know why! I get asked to explain it more than anything else on the course.

yellow = water hazard = 2 options
a. replay the shot from where last played
b. drop back on a line keeping the point the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard directly between you and the flagstick

red = lateral water hazard = 2 additional options over and above the ones above
c. drop a ball within 2 club lengths of the point the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard, not nearer the hole, not in the hazard.
d. drop a ball within 2 club lengths of a point on the opposite margin of the hazard equidistant with the point the ball last crossed the margin.

As Region3 points out, the reason that the latter options are made available is because it's not considered practical to proceed under option b. because of the position of the hazard and environment - but there will be times when it can happen, and you can take advantage of them (if it really is an advantage).

 

[Fish]

I downloaded the R&A app to my phone, it saves so much time and discussion/confusion on the course and once you have looked it up once, it kind of sticks with you.

 

[full_throttle]

Duncan and Region3

thanks for you replies. I offered my partner the opportunity to drop another from as close as possible from where he last played but he wanted to get nearer to the green. He then wanted to drop on the fairway which was about 5 meters shy of the hazard, this is where I got confused.

Wrist firmly slapped, next time I will be aware that there are 4 options for a red staked hazard

 

[Tommo21]

this is a very common cause for confusion, but I still don't know why! I get asked to explain it more than anything else on the course.

yellow = water hazard = 2 options
a. replay the shot from where last played
b. drop back on a line keeping the point the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard directly between you and the flagstick

red = lateral water hazard = 2 additional options over and above the ones above
c. drop a ball within 2 club lengths of the point the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard, not nearer the hole, not in the hazard.
d. drop a ball within 2 club lengths of a point on the opposite margin of the hazard equidistant with the point the ball last crossed the margin.

As Region3 points out, the reason that the latter options are made available is because it's not considered practical to proceed under option b. because of the position of the hazard and environment - but there will be times when it can happen, and you can take advantage of them (if it really is an advantage).

"Options over and above the ones above".........are you saying you can take option B for a yellow stake (go back in line as far as you like) when applied to red stakes.

 

[Colin L]

"Options over and above the ones above".........are you saying you can take option B for a yellow stake (go back in line as far as you like) when applied to red stakes.

Yes, he is.

There are 2 options for a yellow staked water hazard (back in line or play from where you played your previous stroke)
There are the same 2 options for a red staked lateral water hazard plus the other two mentioned (2 club lengths from the point of entry or from the point equidistant on the other side).

The 4 options for a lateral water hazard include the 2 for a water hazard.

 

[Tommo21]

The reason why I’m saying this……….on links golf anyway and not that the rule is wrong. It’s a situation that I’ve never seen used in a lateral water hazard. Simply because going back in line as far as you like usually means your still in there.

 

[Colin L]

The reason why I’m saying this……….on links golf anyway and not that the rule is wrong. It’s a situation that I’ve never seen used in a lateral water hazard. Simply because going back in line as far as you like usually means your still in there.

Exactly. It's because a lateral water hazard will generally make going back in line impracticable that the additional options are in place. But it's not totally impossible that the back in line option could work.

 

[Colin L]

I've just spent a few fun moments thinking of an illustration of where the option of going back along the line would be both possible and advantageous. Here, the line of trees makes 2 club lengths from the entry point pretty hopeless and from the equidistant point none to good as it is too close to the trees to play over the top. Back along the line, however, allows you to go as far back as you need to clear the top of the trees.

View attachment 3948

Hmm. Pity the illustration has been reduced so much in size as to be useless. Back to the drawing board.

 

[Foxholer]

Another common 'abuse' of the Water Hazard rule, more common with lateral than yellow stakes, is when the ball is dropped to the left or right of where it currently lies.

It's the point where it last crossed thee boundary of the hazard that is the reference point, So if the ball is in a ditch that runs in the same direction as the fairway, the reference point for dropping is where it entered the ditch, not where it is now. Then use one of the available options - according to whether it's a Lateral hazard or not.

And yet another is the direction of where the line along which you can go as far back as you wish. That line is a continuation of the line of pin to last entry point away from the hole, not as commonly done, along the line of ball entry into the hazard.

 

[Colin L]

This is the first time I have tried posting an image and I've only just noticed that if you click on the tiny image you get a pop-up with the right size. So here it is again. It's meant to show that because of the line of trees, the option to drop within 2 club lengths of the point of entry (X) is no use because you are dropping in the trees; the option to drop within 2 club lengths of the equidistant point on the other side (Y) leaves you a bit near the trees to clear the tops; but the option of going back along the line allows you to go back as much as you like to be confident of clearing the tree tops.

View attachment 3949