Hazards; About Hazards; Understanding Hazards On Your Watch - TomTom Golfer Reference Manual

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Hazards

A hazard is an area of a golf course which provides a difficult obstacle for the golfer to negotiate. A

course may include water hazards such as lakes and rivers, man-made hazards such as bunkers, and

natural hazards such as trees or thick vegetation.

Many recreational golfers use the term "hazard" to mean anything on a golf course that is hazardous

to one's score such as thick rough or a tall tree in the middle of a fairway.

A ball is considered to be in a hazard when any part of the ball touches that hazard. Special rules

apply to playing balls that have landed in a hazard. For example, a player may not touch the ground

with his club before playing a ball, not even for a practice swing. A ball in any hazard may be

played as it lies without penalty. If it cannot be played from the hazard, the ball may be hit from

another location, generally with a penalty of one stroke.

Bunkers

A bunker is a steep-sided hole or shallow pit near the green or fairway that is usually filled with

sand. It can be more difficult to play a ball from sand than from grass and bunkers sometimes have

a raised lip which makes it difficult to hit the ball out of the bunker.

To hit the ball out of a bunker, you usually need to use a very lofted club called a "sand wedge".

Specific rules of golf govern play from a bunker. Also, after playing out of a bunker, the player or

their caddy must rake smooth the area of the sand disturbed during play.

There are three types of bunkers used when designing a course and all are designed to impede the

golfer's progress toward the green. Bunkers in the middle or sides of the fairway can catch

inaccurate tee shots on par 4 and par 5 holes. Bunkers near and around the green can collect

inaccurate approach shots on long holes and tee shots on par 3 holes. On links or coastal courses,

very large natural sandy areas are not considered to be hazards according to the rules of golf, and

the rules are different for these areas from other bunkers.

Water hazards

Water hazards are usually natural obstacles that add difficulty to a golf course, though on brand

new courses they can of course be man-made. A water hazard may typically be a stream or pond,

positioned next to the fairway or across a fairway, forcing the player to hit the ball over the water

hazard.

Tip: Water hazards don't have to actually have water in them to count as hazards.

Your TomTom Golfer can show you nearby water hazards or bunkers that are within 300 metres (328

yards).

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