[jeff0907]

why did he have to drop across the water when it entered near the green. why did he not just drop were he previously hit.

[rehberg]

Rule book says so.

[uscfandan]

drop no nearer to the hole. dropping in front of the lake would be closer than where it entered the hazard

[ZBigStick]

jeff0907, on Aug 9 2009, 06:49 PM, said:

why did he have to drop across the water when it entered near the green. why did he not just drop were he previously hit.

I guess he wanted a better lie? He did not want to drop in the rough and face a more difficult shot than he had just faced.

Note: When taking relief from a hazard you can always elect to hit from your previous spot with the penalty of one shot.

[specialblend218]

If it were a lateral water hazard (red line or stakes) he probably could have gone sideways and dropped in the fringe. But since it's a water hazard (yellow line or stakes) he must keep the hazard in play when dropping the ball.

This might explain it better:
http://www.hpwgc.org...Rule%2026-1.pdf

[jjj912]

jeff0907, on Aug 9 2009, 06:49 PM, said:

why did he have to drop across the water when it entered near the green. why did he not just drop were he previously hit.

I think he figured that the lie was too poor. By dropping on the other side he gets a clean lie in the fairway at a distance that lets him take a full swing. You probably saw how far he was from the hazard after he dropped. I think he chose a distance that corresponded to how far he expected hit the ball. As it turned out, he either hit the ball too far, or it didn't as much spin as he wanted because the ball still came to rest in the rough behind the green.

[Bomb and Gouge]

Why would he want to hit the same shot he just hit into the water. The rough around the green is nasty. I told my wife it was going into the water before he even hit it. The chances of it landing on the green and not getting wet were pretty slim- IMO.

Why not go out to 100 yards or so....it's a much easier shot & a better lie. I would have done the same thing.

[nvr stsfd]

I think he should have dropped at the spot where Tiger hit his 8 iron. Seemed like it worked for Tiger...