Do I Have To Take A Drop On This Golf Shot

Golf Nut, on a par 4 I hit my second shot over a water hazard (yellow stakes) onto the green side of the hazard but off to the left, well clear of the hazard and playable. In trying to chip my third shot onto the green I shanked it back into the water. Do I have the option to play the golf ball from my original position left of the green and in front of the hazard, or am I forced to take the second option of a drop behind the hazard?

Ok, first let’s look at what the Rules of Golf say about your options. Rule 26 and specifically 26-1 deals with relief for a golf ball in a water hazard. And one of the nuances of this rule that some golfers miss is the following: “In order to apply this Rule, it must be known or virtually certain that the ball is in the hazard.” That quote is direct from the Rules of Golf. If you are not sure, you proceed under the rules for a lost ball. I’ve seen a number of golfers take a drop after mumbling ” Well, I’m pretty sure it went into the hazard”.

Now since your shot did go into the hazard, your two primary options are to: 1. play the golf ball from where you hit the previous shot with a one stroke penalty or 2. Drop a ball behind the hazard. To take option two, you mark the point at which your shot crossed the edge of the water hazard and then you can drop your ball anywhere backwards on a line directly behind that spot and the hole. So in almost all cases this means you draw a line from the golf hole to the spot your ball entered the hazard and drop on that line on the far side of the hazard. And you can go back as far as you need to.

One other option can apply if the ball last crossed the margin of a lateral water hazard, you can 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.

Now to your specific golf situation where your original shot was nearer to the hole than the hazard. Decision 26-1/6 ruled that if your shot was hit into the water hazard from the putting green side of the hazard, you can play from the spot of the original shot under the stroke and distance penalty.

And that is probably the best option in this case. Unless you just want to hit it over the water hazard one more time for practice.

Good luck and good golfing!