I hit my second shot from 178 with a hard draw (hooked
it). It hit the apron of the green and the ball found the lateral water hazard
(a lake). The lake had been drawn down about 3 feet and I found my entire
ball sitting up nicely in the mud. I drudged in the mud to hit the ball. I
topped it and it buried in the mud a foot from where I hit the ball. Unable to
declare an embedded ball, I took a drop on a line where my ball last crossed
the hazard (my second shot)! My playing partners stated I had to go back
on a line from where I attempted to hit the ball from the mud within the lateral
hazard. This would have put me 300 yards across and behind an all-water carry! I
protested and dropped where my ball had last crossed the hazard no closer to
the hole! I then declared I was lying 4, hitting 5. This has been a
month ago and they still say I was wrong! Please settle this so we can move on
to another friendly debate!
Thanks,
Lou from Arkansas
Dear Lou,
There are several relief options when you try to hit a ball
out of a hazard and are unsuccessful. They are all explained in Rule 26-2. I
will limit my answer to your situation.
One of the relief options under Rule 26-2 for a ball played
within a lateral water hazard that remains in the hazard after you try to hit
it out is to proceed under Rule 26-1c [Rule 26-2a (ii)]. 26-1c is the relief
option for a ball in a lateral water hazard that allows you to drop within two
club-lengths and not nearer the hole of the spot where your ball last crossed
the margin of the hazard.
Think about this for a minute. When you try and fail to hit
your ball out of a hazard, you have not crossed the margin of the hazard. The
only time you crossed the margin was on your second shot, the one that hooked
into the water. Following 26-1c, you must establish where your second shot last
crossed the margin of the hazard. You may drop a ball within two club-lengths
of that spot, no closer to the hole. If you prefer, you may drop on the
opposite side of the hazard, at a point that is equidistant from the hole.
Another option is to hit a ball from the spot where you made your last stroke
outside the hazard [Rule 26-2a (iii)], but I doubt you would want to march back
178 yards to hit another shot when you have a better option much closer to the
hole.
Let’s count your strokes:
• second shot enters the hazard
• third shot remains in the hazard
• one-stroke penalty to take relief from the lateral hazard
Your next shot, after the drop, will be your fifth shot on
the hole. Both your procedure and your calculations were correct. Well done,
Lou!
Linda
Copyright © 2014 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
