One of the most violated Rules of Golf is the water hazard rule (Rule 26). Many people want to take relief on their “line of flight” by dropping a ball on the line that the ball traveled in entering the water hazard. Suffice it to say that the words “line of flight” cannot be found in the Rules of Golf book so those proceeding under this option are operating outside the Rules. The correct procedure is to drop a ball behind the water hazard on a straight line from the flagstick through the point where the ball last crossed the margin. In some cases this line may resemble the “line of flight” but in most cases it is a completely different location on the golf course.
Another way that Rule 26 is abused is when golfers estimate the point a ball last crossed a water hazard margin””particularly with lateral water hazards. Case in point: I was fortunate to serve as a walking Rules Official during the recent U.S. Senior Open at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. During the first round one of the players in my group hit a ball into a very large lateral water hazard (also known as Lake Michigan). One of the player’s options with a lateral hazard is to drop a ball within two club-lengths of where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard. This particular player was very honest and estimated the spot where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard to be very close to the tee where his original stroke was played from. I agreed with the player and he chose to replay from the tee. A less honest player may have tried to make a case that the ball last crossed the hazard margin much further down the hole which would give the player the advantage of gaining a significant distance when dropping under a one-stroke penalty.
I liken this rule to a football referee who spots a ball where it went out of bounds on a coffin-corner punt. Similarly, when operating under Rule 26 you are trying to determine where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard. Unless you chose to proceed under stroke and distance, that becomes the point of reference when determining your relief options. This is where it becomes important to consider the “line of flight” or the shape of the shot. If a ball is slicing or hooking could make all the difference in the world when determining where it last crossed.
