“Temporary Water” is one of four “Abnormal Course Conditions” and is defined as any accumulation of water on the surface of the ground that can be seen before or after you take a stance – it must remain present either before or after your stance is taken (i.e. it is not enough for it to be momentarily visible or the ground to be merely wet, muddy, or soft).
If your ball or stance is in the “Temporary Water” you may choose to take relief from it by finding the nearest point of COMPLETE relief (i.e. the position of the ball where there is no interference from the Temporary Water for both the lie and your stance) which is in the same area of the course and is not nearer the hole. Mark this as your reference point and your relief area is within 1 club length of this reference point as long as it is not nearer the hole, in the same area of the course, and where you still have that Complete Relief.
Important Points:
– If you are 95% certain that your ball is in the Temporary Water you do not need to find it. In this case, estimate where your ball last crossed in to the Temporary Water and take relief from that point.
– There is no relief if the Temporary Water is in a Penalty Area
– In a Bunker or on the Green you may take “Maximum Available Relief” if “Complete Relief” is not possible
– From a bunker you can choose to take “back on line” relief outside the bunker but you will incur 1 penalty stroke
– On the Green you should place (not drop) the ball on the spot of complete (or maximum) relief which can also be in the General Area
– On the Green you can take relief if the Temporary Water is on your line of putt
Golf Rules Guru 