The controversy stems from interpreting where the ball last crossed the water&’s edge. Since the decision affects where you take a drop, it makes sense to have a good understanding of the rule, especially if a match is on the line or your working on a personal best.

The Rules
Golf&’s rules define a water hazard as &’any sea, lake, pond, river, ditch, surface draining ditch, or other open water course (whether or not containing water), and anything of a similar nature.&’ Courses mark water hazards with yellow stakes and lines. But the rules don&’t stop there, as I mention in my golf tips and during my golf lessons; they also discuss a lateral water hazard.

The rules define a &’later water hazard&’ as part of a water hazard &’so situated that it is not possible, or is deemed by the committee to be impracticable, to drop a ball behind the water hazard in accordance with Rule 26-1b.&’ In other words, it&’s a water hazard that doesn&’t lie between the tee and the green. The course marks these off by red stakes or lines.

The Remedies
If you hit into water you do one of four things:

1.You can play the ball as near as possible to the spot from which the original ball was played.

2.You can drop a ball behind the water hazard, keeping the point at which the ball entered the water&’s edge, directly behind the hole and the spot where the ball is dropped. There&’s no limit to how far back the ball may be dropped, as long as the point of crossing lies between the drop and the hole.

3.You can play the ball as it lies in the water hazard.

4.If a ball goes into a lateral water hazard, you can drop a ball away from the hazard but within two club lengths of the point from which the ball last crossed the water. However, the ball can&’t come to rest any closer to the hole than the point at which the original ball crossed the hazard.

The Controversy
A major source of controversy is establishing where the ball last crossed the hazard, not where the ball entered the water, which could be relevant in situations in which where a ball lands on the ground, then rolls back into the water.

The easiest way to deal with this type of problem is to determine the point where the ball was last on, or over, dry land, before it crossed the hazard. Next, determine if the point is between the red or yellow stakes. If it is, you can decide on the best course of action from that spot.

The additional dropping option for a lateral water hazard, however, means that the ball can sometimes be dropped on either side of the hazard, as long as it is within two club lengths of where the ball crossed the edge of the hazard and no closer to the hole. That can make a difference when you finally determine where to drop the ball. Unfortunately, no golf instruction can help you make that decision.

Hitting out of the water is rarely an option&’and it&’s not a choice I recommend in my golf lessons and golf tips&’but it has been known to happen. Payne Stewart chose to play the ball from a water hazard during the final hole of his 1989 Ryder Cup Match with Jose Maria Olazabal. The attempt failed and he lost the hole and the match. Think carefully before choosing this option.

Grounding the Club

If a player chooses to hit from the water hazard, he or she can&’t ground the club at any stage of address. Grounding the club may be unintentional, but it&’s still a breach of the rules and subjects the player to a penalty&’two-strokes in medal play and the loss of the hole in match play. The rule resembles that covering the grounding of a club in a bunker.

Knowing the rules governing water hazards won&’t necessarily lower your golf handicap. But it will give you an idea your remedies next time you hit into the water. Since you can be penalized for violating the rules, think carefully before deciding. If you&’re in a tournament and you&’re confused about what to do, don&’t hesitate to talk with officials.

If you are following your favorite player and want an autograph, you can do this whenever he player is not playing a round. It is strongly enforced that no senior golf player be bothered when trying to play the game. All their attention is dedicated to the play. Volunteer’s watch over the crowds to make sure all the rules are followed. Security is at it strongest during the all the days leading up to the final few days when things heat up. You can bring cameras onto the golf courses in the days leading up to the Championship days. Cameras are forbidden during the Championship rounds as well as workers are forbidden to have cell phones on the greens.

Senior golf, which is for those fifty and older also, has vendors set up around the course where you can purchase food and drinks. They do have bleachers at some holes where you can rest for a while before moving onto the next hole. These do fill up quickly, so you should plan to stand the entire time. This can be of some concerns to the many senior golf followers. The do provide some handicap services such as scooters for mobility around the course. The Senior Open is set up to allow everyone to participate as the audience. Many people from everywhere head to the tournaments to see what all the excitement is about during the year.

Qualifying To Play The Senior Golf Open

If you have a Senior Golf Open coming to your city, you can jump up to the tee and try your hand at qualifying to play in the tour. Many times the tours need to fill some open spots and they have qualifying times for any senior golf player over the age of fifty. To even consider qualifying you need to an USGA handicap index of fewer than 3.4. You can apply to qualify and if you meet the requirements, you can be the next senior golf your participant. You will then play a few full rounds of golf and if you succeed, you can play with the pros.

For an amateur senior golf player, this is a dream come true. Many people do however apply to qualify but they usually only need a couple of people for each location. You can find more information about qualifying on the PGA website that gives you all the information you need to know about dates and times of qualifying. This is a stiff competition because there are so many entries and only a handful of openings.

Whether you are a spectator or interested in qualifying, you will enjoy your time. You have a chance to meet the senior gold pros and learn more about them and their techniques. It is after all a great way to learn a few tips about golfing. Keep in mind the rules that are in place and you should enjoy a great day of watching some of the best senior golfers around from around the country.

Most people are not aware that there are various lists of equipment that does conform to professional golf rules. These rules pertain to the golf balls, golf bags, drivers, woods and tees. This list ensures that every golfer is playing by the same standards and is well equipped for a professional golf competition at any time. These rules also save people a lot of time because they are not out buying golf equipment that they can not use everyday to improve a golf average.

As long as drivers meet the standards of coefficient of restitution, they can be used for a professional golf competition. Some golfers make sure that they have the right equipment by buying equipment that meets this standard exactly. The custom made clubs meets the limits of the coefficient of restitution by making sure the driver head does not cause any type of spring to emerge when the ball is hit.

The limits of the of the coefficient of restitution will be changing soon and most golfers will find it very beneficial to their golf game if they ensure that all drivers and club do not exceed a limit of .830. This is a new standard that will apply to every golfer in 2008 and if golfers find some non-conforming clubs in their golf bag, it would be a good idea to beat the rush and order replacements as soon as possible.

The United States Golf Association maintains a list of all clubs that do not fall within the new specifications for coefficient of restitution. There is also a listing for golf balls that do not meet the standard and golfers should give these items some stern attention to detail because no golfer wants to be banned from a competition because they have illegal equipment in their golf bag.

Every golfer should be familiar with the way that a driver responds because this golfing tool is used most often on a golf course. The driver will know if a particular brand of golf ball has a lot of spin to it and some might prefer to keep that spin. Any equipment that causes a spin is likely to be a non-conforming piece of golfing equipment and should be inspected to ensure that it conforms to the rules that the USGA has defined.