Rules Question - Bulkheads Defining Water Hazard

[TourSpoon]

Here you are teeing off on 18 and you bite off a little more than you can chew and your ball hits the bulkhead defining the water hazard.  Is hitting the bulkhead considered crossing the margin?  I would think you would have to drop before the water hazard in this case (or re-tee) as the hitting the bulkhead is not crossing the margin.

This is # 18 at Palm Beach National where I contribute regularly to my own delinquency.  The play here is to hit towards the middle of the left bunker with a little fade to set you up for a wedge.

[TheGeekGolfer]

First question - I'm guessing from the picture that this is defined as a 'lateral hazard'?

So, my interpretation of the rules would be...If you hit 'into' the bulkhead, ie - the ball hits it straight on and not on top then it did NOT cross the line of  the hazard and would be either a) re-teed or b) dropped on a line running straight between point of entry and the flag (ie - could be dropped closer to hazard or at a better angle to the left, rather than re-teeing).  If the ball landed on 'top' of the bulkhead and then somehow rebounded back into the hazard, then I would say the ball did cross the line of the hazard and drop under the '2 club-lengths' rule.

This has happened to me at Langdon Farms Golf Club in Oregon, the par-5 18th has a lateral hazard that runs along the right hand side from about 90yds out up to and alongside the green.  I went for the green on my 2nd shot and I pushed my shot and it got up in the wind and floated a bit too far right.  It landed on top of the rock wall (which I guess would be same as a bulkhead) and then rolled into the water.  There is no margin or stakes defining the hazard as I guess the rock wall is deemed enough of a clear line for the hazard.  I dropped within 2 club-lengths of the point of entry, just off the green in the should-cut of rough.

If someone has an explanation whether this was correct or not, please respond for future knowledge.

[TourSpoon]

If the bulkhead defines the hazard then what is the call?   I play it as the ball did not cross the margin of the hazard if it hits into the bulkhead, even on top as in your case with the rocks.  It is a lateral hazard, but the only way that it would come into play as a lateral hazard is if you hit over the landing area and the ball sliced into the water in which case you would get relief under penalty from where the ball last crossed the margin or you could take one of the other two options. Anyone else?

[zeg]

Are there marker stakes or lines?  If so, then the answer is pretty simple...

If it's not marked, then the question hinges on what is the natural boundary of the water hazard.  I don't have any Decisions to back this up, but my understanding is that the water hazard is only the area that contains (or would occasionally contain) water, so the bulkhead would be outside the hazard.  The boundary of the hazard is the vertical plane extending up from the outermost extent of the water.  So if the ball hits the inside edge, some portion of the ball is inside the hazard, so it has not crossed out.  Only if it hits far enough onto the bulkhead that the ball is entirely outside the boundary would it have crossed the margin.

IMO there really ought to be markers or a statement on the scorecard for a case like this.

[Fourputt]

In my experience, if the course is marked properly, the bulkhead would be inside the margin of the hazard. If the bulkhead defines the hazard, then it is still inside of the hazard. If that were the case it would be a poor job of course marking as you can't tell if it is a water hazard or a lateral water hazard. Even if they had painted a line on top of the bulkhead, the ball would not appear to have crossed it before deflecting back into the hazard. With the info available, I would say that the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard on the side that is nearest the tee.