[mhmob]

Par 3, narrow stream runs in front and alongside green on its left. A drive clears the front water, lands on the greenside rough and bounces into water on the left of the green. Yellow stakes. Can you drop where it FIRST crosses the water in front, keeping water between you and pin? Or must you drop across from the water on the left, again keeping water between you and pin, on a line from where it hit land? Or is there a choice? I know that re-teeing is also an option. He played 2 balls, one from each drop site mentioned above, and got a 4 and a 5, which made a difference based on the appropriate drop. Appreciate any help.

[Gozz]

According to Rule 26 you must drop (if you choose to drop & not retee) from where it last crossed the hazard line which would put him to the left of the green in your scenario.

Rule 26-1

Ball Rolling Back into Water Hazard

Q. My ball landed on the putting green side of a pond in front of the green, but rolled back into the pond. Where do I drop a ball to play my next stroke?

A. The answer depends on the type of hazard the ball rolled into. Under penalty of one stroke, if the ball entered into a water hazard, (yellow stakes and/or lines) or a lateral water hazard (red stakes and/or lines), the player may play a ball from as near as possible to where the original was last played (Rule 26-1a), or drop a ball behind the hazard keeping the point where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard between himself and the hole (Rule 26-1b). Under this option, the player must drop the ball behind the water hazard (see Decision 26-1/1.5). An additional option available only for a ball in a lateral water hazard is to drop the ball within two club-lengths of the point where the ball last crossed the margin of the lateral water hazard or a point equidistant from the hole on the opposite margin of the hazard from where the ball last crossed into the hazard. However, it may not be dropped nearer the hole. If the player can drop the ball meeting the conditions of this last option, it may be dropped on the putting green side of the water hazard. Decision 26-1/15 illustrates the options under this Rule.

[Gozz]

Here is another example.
[attachment=138305:image_26.1.1.5.gif]


Q. With regard to the illustration above, a player makes a stroke from the tee and his ball comes to rest in the water hazard at Point A, having last crossed the margin of the hazard at Point B. The player wishes to proceed under Rule 26-1b, which requires that the player 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. May the player drop a ball on dotted line Y-Y?

A. Yes. The reference to “behind” in Rule 26-1b means that the ball must be dropped outside the hazard behind the point where the ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard. Therefore, the player may drop a ball on either dotted line X-X or dotted line Y-Y.