Do the relief options differ depending on the type of water hazard?
Yes. Options “a” and “b” are acceptable options regardless of what type of water hazard it is. Option “c” is only available when taking relief from a lateral water hazard (red stakes and lines). Below are the options for relief from a water or lateral water hazard under Rule 26-1: • Play a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played; or • Drop a ball behind the water hazard, keeping the point at which the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind the water hazard the ball may be dropped; or • As additional options available only if the ball last crossed the margin of a lateral water hazard, drop a ball outside the water hazard within two club-lengths of and not nearer the hole than (i) the point where the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard or (ii) a point on the opposite margin of the water hazard equidistant
