Dear Linda,
My partner hit her ball over a yellow-staked water hazard. The ball landed on the green and rolled back into the water. She said she could drop from the green side of the hazard as it is now referred to as a penalty area, and all penalty areas are treated the same. I thought she still had to keep the water hazard between the flag and her ball. Am I wrong?
Thank you for your help in advance.
Lulu from Burbank, California
Dear Lulu,
Allow me to update your vocabulary to 2019 before I answer your question.
The word “hazard” is no longer used. The new term is “penalty area,” and it applies to any body of water on the course as well as any other part of the course the Committee defines as a penalty area (e.g., deserts, heavily wooded areas).
Penalty areas may be marked by yellow or red stakes or lines. Yellow and red penalty areas are not treated the same. Yellow penalty areas have two relief options; red penalty areas have three.
In your question, the player’s ball rolled into a yellow-staked penalty area. If she decides to take relief, she must add one penalty stroke to her score and she has two relief choices: (1) play another ball under stroke and distance; or (2) play another ball back on the line. Please review Rule 17.1d and study Diagram #1 17.1d: Relief for Ball in Yellow Penalty Area. The player might be able to drop on the green side of the yellow penalty area if she chooses the back-on-the-line relief option. Depending on the location of the flagstick and the configuration of the hole, there may be a bit of land behind the spot where the ball last crossed the edge of the penalty area. However, in situations where the penalty area crosses the fairway, and you need a bridge to traverse it, back-on-the-line relief will be behind the penalty area (on the tee side).
Linda
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