What happens if there is water in the bunker

There's standing water in various places around the course. You play a stroke and, whoops, your ball winds up in a bunker. So you trudge up to the bunker to play a sand shot, only to discover that the bunker has water in it, and your ball is in that water. Do you get to drop outside of that bunker?

Only if you're willing to take a one-stroke penalty. You can drop, without penalty, in another part of the same bunker , but a drop outside the bunker will cost you a penalty stroke.

The water pooled in that bunker is called temporary water prior to it was called "casual water" under the Rules of Golf :. If your ball comes to rest in temporary water within a bunker, you may drop without penalty at the nearest point of relief within the bunker, no nearer the hole.

That applies no matter what the condition is of the rest of the bunker. If the rest of the bunker is dry, great. But even if the entire bunker contains water , the same rule applies: If you want free relief, you must drop within that bunker to avoid penalty. So if the bunker is completely filled with water, your only option to improve the situation without penalty is this, according to the USGA Web site:.

It allows committees to treat the bunker as Ground Under Repair and then give free relief from outside it. It needs to be done on a case-by-case basis.

Despite the simplification of the Rules of Golf at the beginning of , there are still some that leave us scratching our heads. My mailbag has been very busy in recent weeks! Click here for the full Rules of Golf explained archive and details of how to submit a question to our expert. Rules of Golf explained: This bunker is full of water — can I have a free drop?

Rules of Golf. If relief is available, where do I drop the ball - or do I place it? Why doesn't the Committee just rule the bunkers out of play, declare them 'in the General Area? Rule OK, so I can drop the ball not place without penalty in the shaded area.

Of course I cannot drop the ball into that part of the legal area which is still in the water. What happens if my dropped ball rolls back into the water? This is so complicated! Looking to purchase a golf carry bag?

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Sam Tremlett.