My ball landed in the hazard, but its playable. I do have 3 options with yellow stakes.
OPTION 1: The first option is playing it as it lies. Remember, you cannot ground your club! OPTION 2: The second option is to return to the spot where you last hit it and play the shot again, hopefully back on the short hairs. You’ll incur a 1-stroke penalty + distance with Option 2. OPTION 3: Allows you to take a drop as far back as needed, keeping the point from where the ball last crossed the hazard and flag. You’ll incur a 1-stroke penalty with Option 3.I’m going with Option 1. I grab a yardage and my 9 iron, which has enough loft to get me over this swampy thing.
As I do with all my shots, I walk in from behind focusing on my land spot back out in the short hairs.
With a ball nestled in thick grass, I’ll stand a bit closer to the ball. This will provide a steeper descent and get the ball up quickly.
I’ll position the ball slightly left of center to promote first contact. Lastly, my weight favors my front side to also encourage this steep descent.
Success. It went through the tree branches a bit en route back to the short hairs, but all is good.