Water hazards used to be one of the most confusing parts of the rules of golf. The R&A and USGA simplified things in 2019 — but plenty of golfers are still unsure what to do when their ball finds a penalty area.

This guide explains the current rules clearly, so you know exactly what your options are before you even reach the water's edge.

What Is a Penalty Area?

Under the current Rules of Golf, what used to be called a "water hazard" is now called a penalty area. The change in name reflects a broader change in scope: penalty areas can now include any area the committee defines — not just water.

Penalty areas are marked with either:

• Red stakes or lines — a lateral penalty area
• Yellow stakes or lines — a standard penalty area

The colour determines which relief options are available to you.

Yellow Penalty Area: Your Two Options

When your ball is in a yellow penalty area, you have two options, both with a one-stroke penalty:

Option 1: Stroke and Distance

Play another ball from where you played your last shot. This is always available, regardless of where the ball entered the penalty area.

Option 2: Back-on-the-Line Relief

Draw an imaginary line from the hole through the point where your ball last crossed the edge of the penalty area. You can drop anywhere on that line, as far back as you like — but you must stay on the line, not to the side of it.

Red Penalty Area: Three Options

When your ball is in a red penalty area, you have three options, all with a one-stroke penalty:

Option 1: Stroke and Distance

Same as above — play from where you last played.

Option 2: Back-on-the-Line Relief

Same as the yellow penalty area option.

Option 3: Lateral Relief

Drop within two club-lengths of the point where your ball last crossed the edge of the penalty area — no closer to the hole. This is the option most golfers use, and it's only available for red penalty areas.

What If You Can't Find Your Ball?

If your ball might be in a penalty area but you're not certain, you can play a provisional ball under stroke and distance while you go to look. If you find your ball in the penalty area, you can choose to play it as it lies (no penalty) or take relief under the penalty area rules.

If you can't find it and it's known or virtually certain to be in the penalty area, you apply the penalty area rules. If there's any doubt, it's treated as a lost ball — stroke and distance.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Dropping in the wrong place. For lateral relief, you must drop within two club-lengths of where the ball crossed the edge — not where it came to rest in the water, and not the nearest point of the bank.

Dropping closer to the hole. Your drop must be no closer to the hole than the reference point. This catches a lot of golfers out on diagonal penalty areas.

Forgetting to announce a provisional. If you're playing a provisional ball, you must say so before playing it. If you don't, the second ball automatically becomes the ball in play under stroke and distance.

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Never Guess a Penalty Rule Again on the Course

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