Par 3 over water roll back?

[Fourputt]

Lateral water hazards were first defined in the rules in 1952.  Prior to that, they were occasionally dealt with by local rules, but mostly if you hit into a lateral hazard, you had to take the stroke and distance penalty.  In the first few local rules and in the official rule in 1952, you did not get the option of dropping back on a line away from the hole, because if that was possible, the hazard did not fit the definition of a lateral water hazard.  It wasn't until the 1956 revision that option 'b' was allowed for all water hazards, and the 2 clublength option was only allowed for a hazard marked as a lateral.  Also interesting that the use of yellow (water hazard) and red (lateral water hazard) stakes/lines was not officially implemented until 1980.

[Cartboy]

I know this is an old thread, but I chuckled reading it because the other day when my ball rolled back into a yellow-staked water hazard from the green-side, one of the guys went to great lengths to make sure I understood that I had to play my next shot from the tee side of the water, where it originally crossed.

I'm not chuckling because of that rule, but because the guy that insisted on pointing it out ALWAYS touches his ball on the green before he marks it.  It's obvious he always has and in 60 years no one has ever called him on it.