Rules Question - Water Hazards and OB

[Warik]

Being a high handicap golfer, I should have already mastered the art of adding penalty strokes for encountering water hazards and OB... but then there goes Sean O'Hair at the Players Championship yesterday to confuse the hell out of me.

I've always thought that ending up out of bounds or in a water hazard from the tee meant I had to tee up again and take another shot with a penalty stroke. However... after O'Hair put his first ball in the water on 17, he took his next shot from just before where his ball went in the water, so now I'm confused. Have I been making it harder for myself this whole time when I ended up in the water or OB off the tee?

Could someone clarify this rule for me and tell me if the same applies to OB? I could have sworn I read somewhere that out of bounds shots off the tee meant I had to retee, but now I'm not sure.

[Butcho22]

Out of bounds, you have to hit your next shot from where you hit the previous one.

So if you hit it OB off the tee, you're hitting your next shot from the tee, and it's your 3rd shot.

Water hazards are a bit more complicated, as you have more options...let me get you a link cuz I don't want to write it all out, lol

[Butcho22]

Water Hazards

[thisnamedoesntfi]

OB and lost ball is re-tee.

There are two kinds of water hazards yellow(Water) and red(Lateral). Yellow hazards you must keep the line of your point of entry and the pin. You can go as far back as you want to, including you have the OPTION to re-tee. Red hazards you have those same options but you can also drop within two club-lengths either side of the hazard not nearer the hole. Also in many tournaments and indeed on many holes at local member clubs, they will employ a Drop Zone. I believe 17 at Sawgrass they use a DZ, in which case you would have that as a third option to keeping the pin in line and re-teeing.

Edit.....^^someone smarter than me, why did I type that out, that's what Google is for.