For as long as I have been playing golf there has always been confusion over the rulings for red and yellow stakes, or to put it more accurately “Water Hazards” and “Lateral Water Hazards”.
I recently ran across the same confusion again in the email below, so please read on to ensure you are absolutely clear on this particular rule of golf:
RULES OF GOLF QUESTION:
“This question came up recently while golfing.
We were on a par 3 with a water hazard between the tee and the green.
One player’s tee shot went into the water hazard.
She proceeded to tee up her second ball and put it on the green.
When playing this course before, we dropped a ball 2 club lengths before the hazard taking a penalty and then finished playing out the hole.
She said the rule had been changed and we can now tee up the second ball instead of dropping the ball near the hazard.
Is this correct or is this a local rule?”
RULES OF GOLF ANSWER:
“If your ball is in a water hazard you can certainly play another ball from the tee under penalty of one stroke, as this is one of the options under Rule 26-1 Relief for Ball in Water Hazard.
The Rule says; “Play a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played”.
However, unless the water hazard in front of the par-3 in question is a lateral water hazard (red stakes instead of yellow stakes) you cannot drop a ball two club-lengths before the hazard.
The only other relief option when your ball is in a water hazard (yellow stakes), under penalty of one stroke, is to drop a ball behind the water hazard, keeping the point at which the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind the water hazard the ball may be dropped.
If the hazard is a lateral water hazard (red stakes) under penalty of one stroke, you can drop a ball WITHIN two club-lengths of the point where the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard, not nearer the hole.”
This may sound a little complicated, but it is a very important Rule to understand, as sooner or later we all put our balls in water hazards!
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Disclaimer: Whilst every attempt has been made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of this information on the Rules of Golf I am human and have been known to be wrong! Neither I, nor anyone connected with GolfSwingSecretsRevealed.com, shall be held responsible for any losses caused by reliance upon the accuracy or reliability of such information. Readers should refer to the full text of the rules and decisions as published in the official publications of the R&A and the USGA, The Rules of Golf 2008-2011 and Decisions on the Rules of Golf 2008-2009.
I have always been determined to learn and understand the rules of any game I play. I started playing golf more than 40 years ago, and I still try to keep up with all the rule changes each year. Many years ago I learned that a “lateral water hazard” meant that if your ball completely crossed the margin of the hazard, and than went back into the hazard, that relief can be obtained by moving “lateraly”, equidistant from the point where the ball “last crossed the margin of the hazard”. Rule 26-1- c-ii states that “only if the ball crossed the margin of a lateral hazard”, you are permitted to drop on the “opposite” margin of the hazard, equidistant from the point the ball last crossed the hazard line. What does “opposite margin” in this context mean? The wording of this rule confuses me. Are we to assume that the referance in 26-1 to “behind” the hazard and “opposite margin” of the hazard mean exactly the same thing, making the referance to “equidistant” meaningless? If relief can be attained within 2 club lengths of the point of entry into the hazard, without dropping closer to the hole, than the type of hazard is irrelevant!!! If the only option for relief from either hazard is the same, meaning you must keep the point of entry between the hole and where you must drop, than there is no need for any distintion of what type of hazard it is.
Can red pegs be used to mark a hazard in which no water is ever present?
Ron
Joe,
No, you don’t HAVE to take a drop. The option of “playing the ball as it lies” is ALWAYS available to you with the exception of ES (environmentally sensitive). This is mark by yellow or red stakes with a green top I believe.
it seems that in a water hazard i can play my next shot from behind the hazard. does this mean it could be within two club lengths the same as the lateral rule? whereas a lateral hazard you are restricted to the two club lengths?
Barry’s Reply:
Yes and no! The wording of Rule 26-1b states that the player may, ‘Drop a ball behind the water hazard, keeping the point at which the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind the water hazard the ball may be dropped.’
So, it follows that you may drop a ball within two club-lengths of that line, but are not restricted to this measurement. The point that a lot of players get wrong is that the line they may take their relief on, under penalty of one stroke, is from the hole (flagstick) through where the ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard, which is nothing to do with the line of flight from the previous stroke, or where the ball lies at rest in the hazard.
Hello Andy,
What shall I do if my ball reaches a lateral whater hazard at the side of the green and there is no area between the green and the water hazard?
May I drop on the green?
Karl-Erik
Joe,
I am replying on behalf of Andy Brown and GolfSwingSecretsRevealed.com.
Firstly, Yellow stakes denote water hazards and red stakes denote lateral water hazards. There does not have to be water in either. The difference can be found in part of the definition of lateral water hazards;
“A “lateral water hazard†is a water hazard or that part of a water hazard so situated that it is not possible, or is deemed by the Committee to be impracticable, to drop a ball behind the water hazard in accordance with Rule 26-1b. All ground and water within the margin of a lateral water hazard are part of the lateral water hazard.â€
Players may always play their ball from within either type of water hazard, but as you say, they must not ground their club while addressing their ball. If it is not practical for a player to play his ball within the margin of a water hazard then under penalty of one stroke he can take the following options, as per Rule 26-1;
“a. Play a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played (see Rule 20-5); or
b. Drop a ball behind the water hazard, keeping the point at which the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind the water hazard the ball may be dropped; or
c. As additional options available only if the ball last crossed the margin of a lateral water hazard, drop a ball outside the water hazard within two club-lengths of and not nearer the hole than (i) the point where the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard or
(ii) a point on the opposite margin of the water hazard equidistant from the hole.â€
Regards,
BarryR
For GolfSwingSecretsRevealed.com
Aloha from Hawaii,
Regarding red and yellow stakes,…
Our club members were discussing the difference between the red and yellow stakes and specifically when there are stakes where water is not present. The issue is when a ball enters the area where there is no water but there are yellow stakes.
Is the player REQUIRED to drop his ball outside the stakes to put it in play or can he hit his shot from within the stakes with the requirement of not grounding his glub? Is this the same with red stakes? I always thought that with yellow stakes, you are REQUIRED to take a mandatory drop outside the stakes to put your ball in play where with red stakes, you can hit your ball from within as long as you don’t ground your club.
Please clarify.
mahalo (thank-you)
Joe
Jim,
I am replying on behalf of Andy Brown and GolfSwingSecretsRevealed.com.
By definition Ground Under Repair (GUR) is any part of the course so marked by order of the Committee. In my opinion, a Committee would be
wrong to define any GUR within an area defined as a water hazard.
Surely, the margin of GUR should stop at the margin of the water hazard because, as you infer in your question, different Rules apply.
Of course, it is permitted to define an area within a water hazard as being an environmentally-sensitive area. In fact Decision 33-8/41 states; “If an appropriate authority prohibits entry into and/or play from an area for environmental reasons, it is the Committee?s responsibility to decide whether an environmentally-sensitive area should be defined as ground under repair, a water hazard or out of bounds.
However, the Committee may not define the area as a water hazard or a lateral water hazard unless it is, by Definition, a water hazard. The Committee should attempt to preserve the character of the hole.”
Regards,
BarryR
For GolfSwingSecretsRevealed.com
Whilst every attempt has been made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of this information on the Rules of Golf I am human and have been known to be wrong! Neither I, nor anyone connected with GolfSwingSecretsRevealed.com, shall be held responsible for any loss or damage of any sort caused by reliance upon the accuracy or reliability of such information. Readers should refer to the full text of the rules and decisions as published in the official publications of the R&A (www.randa.org) and the USGA (www.usga.org), The Rules of Golf 2008-2011 and Decisions on the Rules of Golf 2008-2009.
Hi Andy, if an area of GUR encompasses a part of a water hazard and a ball enters the hazard is it now in GUR or as normal in a hazard? Interesting.
Jim
Hi Gisle,
The option in Rule 26-1b still applies. Of course, in this case it means crossing the water hazard (beyond the hole) to the far side, and dropping a ball anywhere on a line from the hole through the point at which the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard (on the green side), with no limit to how far behind the water hazard the ball may be dropped. A similar situation occurs when a player’s approach shot over water to the putting green spins back off the green into the water. The player must take his ball back over the water to drop it somewhere on the correct line.
Kind Regards
Andy
What if the ball carries the water hazard (yellow or red) and then rolls back into the hazard, where do you drop the ball? On the side where the ball first crossed the hazard or on the favorable side where it last crossed the hazard line?