Water Hazard
Navigating Water Hazards on a Golf Course
Water hazards bring on about as much (if not more) anxiety as a sand bunker does. Few things intimidate a golfer or mess up his naturally smooth swing as a small river, lake, or pond getting in close proximity.
Water hazards are sometimes playable. There have been many pros seen on Sunday afternoon TV rolling up their pants legs and stepping into a shallow stream to hit their ball rather than have to drop and take a hit on the scorecard.
Make sure if you try this strategy, you’re not in an area where dangerous wild animals might be lurking nearby, like an alligator. If the area is secure, it’s perfectly acceptable to try to hit your ball out of the water hazard – but you’ll have to hit it like you mean it.
A water hazard is similar to sand in that the water itself is an obstacle. If you gently try to sweep the ball into the air with a soft shot, the water may not get you the distance you’d hoped for.
Some golfers steer clear of courses that have any water hazards, but ideally, you’ll learn to navigate your way over or around them. You may be so intimidated by the water ahead that you try to hard to help the ball.
This is a mistake. What often happens is you top the ball and it rolls forward, splashing directly into the very water you were trying to avoid. Let your clubface lift the ball and carry it, and you continue swinging just as if you were using a pitching wedge to hit the ball up and down onto the green.
If you do land in the water, you have options. If you’re able to, hit the ball out of the water. If not, you can take a stroke and drop a ball from the same spot you were at when you first hit the ball, which will cause anxiety because you’re afraid it’ll happen again.
Another option is to drop the ball in the line of sight and hazard where the ball went in, as long as it’s no nearer to the hole. You get penalized one stroke for this. If it’s a lateral water hazard, which means it’s impossible for you to drop behind it, then you can drop the ball two club lengths from where it entered the hazard as long as it’s no closer to the hole and is marginal to the hazard.
Navigating a water hazard isn’t as hard as it sounds. Try taking your shot as if you see nothing but a straight fairway of fine, green grass in front of you. Don’t let the potential for a lost ball cause you to flub your shot and wind up all wet.
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