relief question

["Richard"]

I was playing yesterday and my friend hit his tee shot onto what he said was a cart path and I said was a bridge. The reason I said it was a bridge was because there was one of those big tube pipe things that go under the path to get the water from the left side to the right side. There was water on the left of the opening of the tube, watter on the right of the right side of the tube and then a path other the tude so you can get your parts over. There was also a piece of wood on the left side of the path to prevent I guess people from falling into the water or someone pushing or driving a cart off the side... but there wasn't one on the right side.

I should add that his ball was not on the gravel but on the grass on the left side of bridge/path between the gravel and the peice of wood. Since he is a right handed player to wood interfeered with his stance. Also, I should add... had that path/bridge not been there he would have been in the water, there were stakes marking the water on the left and on the right.

Any thoughts?

[Chambokl]

Hey Thotho,

If the ball was in the hazard (inside the hazard markers) he has to play the ball where it lies. He even have to play the ball on the bridge if the bridge is inside the hazard. If he wants relief he gets penalized....

Chambo

[AAA]

A water hazard is '..... other open water course...'
Water in a pipe underground is not an open water course.
ergo, unless the path is declared by the committee to be in the WH, it isn't.

[el tigre]

I should add that his ball was not on the gravel but on the grass on the left side of bridge/path between the gravel and the peice of wood. Since he is a right handed player to wood interfeered with his stance. Also, I should add... had that path/bridge not been there he would have been in the water, there were stakes marking the water on the left and on the right.

Any thoughts?

Based on your description above of the location of his ball in relation to the stakes marking the margin of the hazard, it would seem that his ball was inside the hazard line and therefore in the hazard. No free relief.