Every month former MGA Senior Director of Rules and Competitions Gene Westmoreland will answer one question posed by the readers of the MGA e-Revision Newsletter (click here to sign up). Gene recently received the following Rules question from a reader:

 

Q: A player is on the green putting for birdie. He hits the putt too hard and it rolls off the green and into the water hazard that is in front of the green. What is the ruling and where is the ball replaced?

Gene responds:

It depends on whether it is a “water hazard” or “lateral water hazard.” You can always play the ball out of the water hazard, but lacking that as a practical option, if it was marked as a water hazard you could either drop a ball outside the hazard, keeping the point it last crossed the hazard between the spot you drop the ball and the hole (this will mean going to the “tee side” of the hazard), or you could place a ball on the green as near to the spot where you played (putted) your previous stroke.

 

If it was a lateral water hazard you would have the same three options listed above, plus you could drop a ball no closer to the hole and within two club lengths of the point it last crossed the margin of the lateral water hazard.

 

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