par 3 surrounded by water

[mburton]

quick question on water hazards as i have particular trouble with a hole on my regular course.  it's a par 3 with the tee elevated above the green, which is surrounded by water.  about 50% of the time i'm hitting my first shot into the water, how do i play it correctly from there?  do i drop up near where it went into the water and would i be shooting 3 from there? thanks for the help, i'm trying to get the rules down before i start playing to a handicap!

[Rulesman]

It depends on whether the margin of the water hazard is marked with yellow (water hazard) or red (lateral water hazard) stakes/lines.

It in all probability will be yellow.

This is a link to the rule

Read this first and come back if you have any problems.

http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Rules-of-Golf/Rule-26/#26-1

[Fourputt]

Also look at this USGA video on water hazards: Water Hazards

[RayG]

Does the hole have a "drop zone" most people ignore or even don't know about? If so, play it from there. IF the ball never crossed the red line around the green, then a re-tee and playing three. OR- drop closer to the front of the tee box and play 3 from there. Those would be the most likely scenarios.

[ColinL]

Does the hole have a "drop zone" most people ignore or even don't know about? If so, play it from there. IF the ball never crossed the red line around the green, then a re-tee and playing three. OR- drop closer to the front of the tee box and play 3 from there. Those would be the most likely scenarios.

Ray, perhaps you should read through Rule 26  which Rulesman linked above.  In brief the players options are to play the ball as it lies or as follows:

If it is a water hazard (yellow stakes or line) he can

either, drop a ball  behind the hazard on a line from the hole through the point where the ball last crossed the margin as far back as he likes;

or, play from where he played his previous shot.

If it is a lateral water hazard (red stakes or line)  he has the same options plus dropping within 2 clublengths of where the ball last crossed the margin or within 2 club lengths of the point on the other side the same distance from the hole.

A Local Rule should be in place if there is a Dropping Zone available.

Dropping "closer to the front of the tee box" doesn't make any sense to me.

[Fourputt]

Does the hole have a "drop zone" most people ignore or even don't know about? If so, play it from there. IF the ball never crossed the red line around the green, then a re-tee and playing three. OR- drop closer to the front of the tee box and play 3 from there. Those would be the most likely scenarios.

You can't assume that the hole is marked with a red line for a lateral water hazard.

The island green on the 17th at Sawgrass is marked entirely in yellow (regular water hazard).  It doesn't matter whether the ball enters the hazard from the tee side of the water or from the green side, they still go to the drop zone.  The drop zone is used on that hole because the ball can enter the hazard from almost anywhere around the green, and if they were required to play strictly by Rule 26 they could end up having to play from almost anywhere around the outside of the pond.  That would take too much time and require too much guessing of just exactly where the proper drop would be.  For a hole like that, having a dropping zone just makes sense.

[mburton]

played the course today, i glanced down at the stakes so i could report back, and they were yellow...

despite worrying about the water even more after looking at the stakes and thinking about where i'll need to drop it, i stuck the ball 10 feet from the hole and putted for birdie!! haha

that being said, i don't see that being the norm, and foresee much more water shots lol.. if they're staked yellow how do i proceed?

[rdsandy]

played the course today, i glanced down at the stakes so i could report back, and they were yellow...

despite worrying about the water even more after looking at the stakes and thinking about where i'll need to drop it, i stuck the ball 10 feet from the hole and putted for birdie!! haha

that being said, i don't see that being the norm, and foresee much more water shots lol.. if they're staked yellow how do i proceed?

You rehit from the tee, or drop a ball behind the spot where the ball last crossed the yellow hazard line in line with that spot and the pin both with a stroke penalty or hit the ball as it lies.

[Fourputt]

played the course today, i glanced down at the stakes so i could report back, and they were yellow...

despite worrying about the water even more after looking at the stakes and thinking about where i'll need to drop it, i stuck the ball 10 feet from the hole and putted for birdie!! haha

that being said, i don't see that being the norm, and foresee much more water shots lol.. if they're staked yellow how do i proceed?

Tell you what... actually look at the linked video I posted about above.  Or read the rule that Rulesman linked to.  I'm not going to waste time typing information that's easily available online - all you have to do is look for it.

[mburton]

yeah that's my fault, i don't know if i overlooked his post with the link or what, but i went through it and i've got it down now, sorry about that, and thanks for the help everyone!