Hi Linda,
There is a drainage/retention area running along the left side of a dogleg hole. There are red stakes marking the area. Sometimes the area is just damp & stony, sometimes a little water, sometimes a lot of water. Yesterday a woman hit into the area (twice), & there was a lot of water. She had to retrieve her ball with my favorite tool "the ball retriever.” So, 1st shot into water, retrieved; 2nd shot into water, retrieved; 3rd shot into fairway, etc. The question is...should there have been penalty strokes each time the ball was removed from the water?
Lulu
Dear Lulu,
There is always a penalty involved when you decide to take relief from a water hazard. A drainage ditch is defined as a water hazard. If it is marked with red stakes, it is a lateral water hazard [see Rule 26-1 for relief options]. Each time the ball is fished out of the ditch there is a one-stroke penalty. So, let’s count your friend’s score: first shot into the hazard is 1, penalty to take it out brings her to 2, next shot into the hazard makes 3, penalty for the second retrieval brings her to 4, next shot is 5, and then add the rest of the strokes it takes her to finish the hole.
Just a reminder to everyone that a water hazard does not have to contain water to be labeled as such – lakes and ponds have been known to dry up. And don’t forget that you have the option to try to play your ball out of a hazard, thereby avoiding that unwelcome penalty stroke. However, be careful not to touch the ground with your club, and don’t move any loose impediments (leaves, branches, goose feathers, etc.), or you will be adding two penalty strokes to your score [Rule 13-4].
Linda
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