relief from lateral water hazard

Question
QUESTION: In taking relief from a lateral water hazard that has a steep side slope my question is....after measuring the two club lengths no closer to the hole up the slope, what is the procedure? If the balls rolls down the slope , but not back into the hazard, but your feet will be in the hazard.do you get to re-drop or play it as it lies? Do you get complete relief of ball and stance or just the ball? If ball rolls back into the hazard, how many times do you re-drop before placing the ball.

ANSWER: Rene,

Under rule twenty, c. When to Re-Drop
A dropped ball must be re-dropped, without penalty, if it:
(i) rolls into and comes to rest in a hazard;

If you drop the ball and it goes into the hazard you get to drop again. If the second drop goes into the hazard you place the ball where it made contact to the ground.

Although dropping along side a lateral water hazard is the most common procedure there are four other options to consider. Check these out on the USGA web site under Rule 26.

Thanks for the question,

Michael

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Part of my question was if after the ball has been dropped and come to rest your feet are still in the hazard are you supposed to re-drop for complete relief of ball and stance?...or do you play it with your feet in the hazard.

Answer
Rene,

There is nothing in the rule book that states that you may re-drop if the ball after a drop is outside the hazard but your stance is within the hazard. You need to make an educated decision as to which option you plan on taking to avoid this situation.

I thought I answered the question when I stated the following but I guess it wasn't clear enough. Sorry.
Under rule twenty, c. When to Re-Drop
A dropped ball must be re-dropped, without penalty, if it:
(i) rolls into and comes to rest in a hazard;

Thanks,

Michael