Hazard (golf)
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A hazard is an area of a golf course in the sport of golf.
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[edit] Bunker
A bunker is a depression near the green or fairway that is usually filled with sand. It is difficult to hit the ball out of the bunker and entering it is therefore considered punitive to a golfer who misses the target with the previous shot. A club called a "sand wedge" is designed for extracting the ball from a bunker, a process requiring well-developed skill. After a player is done using the bunker, it is the job of either the player or that player's caddy to rake the area of the sand disturbed during play. Specific rules of golf govern play from a bunker. For example, a player may not ground one's club in a bunker; that is, the club cannot touch the ground prior to the swing.
There are three types of bunkers used in golf course architecture and all are designed to be impediments to the golfer's progress toward the green. Fairway bunkers are designed primarily to gather up wayward tee shots on par 4 and par 5 holes; they are located to the sides of the fairway or even in the middle of the fairway. Greenside bunkers are designed to collect wayward approach shots on long holes and tee shots on par 3 holes; they are located near and around the green. Waste bunkers are usually very large and thin structures running along a natural hazard like a lake or river and are design to collect wayward tee shots; they are usually located along the fairway and are not hazards according to the rules of golf.
[edit] Water hazard
Water hazards, like bunkers, are natural obstacles designed to add both beauty and difficulty to a golf course. Water hazards are typically either streams or ponds, situated between the teeing ground and the hole.
[edit] Types of Water Hazards
Two types of water hazards exist: "lateral" water hazards (marked with red stakes around the perimeter of the hazard) and water hazards (marked with yellow stakes). Lateral hazards are usually adjacent to the hole being played, while water hazards generally cross the hole being played, forcing the player to hit over the water hazard.
[edit] Rules
When a ball is hit into either type of hazard, the player has the option of:
- playing the ball as it lies (without grounding his or her club) in the hazard or
- taking a stroke and distance penalty by playing a substitute ball from the spot at which they hit into the hazard.
When a ball is hit into a lateral hazard, the player may also drop a ball within two club lengths of where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard (no closer to the hole), at a penalty of one stroke.
When a ball is hit into a water hazard, the player may also drop a ball, behind the water hazard, on a line of sight between the hole and where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard (no closer to the hole), at a penalty of one stroke.
