Winter is on its way, which means you may occasionally find that your ball came to rest in a puddle of water.
So what do you do?
If this happens, your ball is in what the Rules call “temporary water.” You may play your ball as it lies or take free relief.
You take free relief by finding the nearest point of complete relief where you are clear of the puddle and then drop your original ball or another ball away from the puddle and within one club-length of that point not nearer the hole (see Rule 16.1b).
You may also take relief from a puddle of water if your ball is in a bunker or on the putting green (see Rule 16.1c for the bunker or Rule 16.1d for the putting green), but you do not get relief from a puddle inside a penalty area.
For more on the Rules of Golf, check out our Rules Education and Resources Page at NCGA.org.