Dealing with Water Hazards While Golfing

Derek H. Smith founded San Francisco’s Marinship Development Interest LLC in 2005, and continues to lead the general contracting, real estate development and energy infrastructure firm as managing member. When he is not overseeing construction and real estate processes at Marinship Development Interest, Derek H. Smith enjoys staying active through working out, skiing and golfing.

Hazard strokes are the bane of many golfer’s existence. Water hazards can seem particularly cruel, as golfers literally lose some of their equipment. In the event that a golfer hits a ball into the water, there are a few steps they can take.

A ball hit into any kind of hazard can be played as it lies, so long as the player refrains from touching the ground with the club prior to their stroke, with the exception of moving debris from a bunker. However, this rule is more likely to apply to balls hit into sand traps or woods, though it may apply to a ball in shallow water. Beyond this decision, every water hazard option carries a one stroke penalty.

A player’s remaining options are governed by what kind of water hazard they have hit into. A water hazard marked by yellow stakes is a general water hazard, while red marked hazards are known as lateral water hazards. In either case, players can proceed under Rule 27-1, which states that a player may attempt to play a shot from as close to the position from which they hit the ball into the hazard. Similarly, players can drop a ball behind the hazard they hit into, at any distance, while maintaining a straight line between the hole, the hazard, and the point at which the ball entered the hazard.

Lateral water hazards offer two additional options. Instead of dropping the ball behind the hazard, players can drop a ball within two club lengths of the outermost margins of the hazard. The ball cannot be played from such a position that it is closer to the hole than it was upon entering the hazard. Lastly, the ball can be played from the opposite side of the hazard, so long as it remains the same distance from the hole.