Hazard (golf) Hazard (golf) A hazard is an area of a golf course in the sport of golf which provides a difficult obstacle, which may be of two types: (1) water hazards such as lakes and rivers; and (2) man-made hazards such as bunkers. Special rules apply to play balls that fall 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
Eight-ball find the it acceptable. It is primarily as a way to prevent "tucking up", whereby a player does not attempt to pot and instead just rolls up to their object ball to use it to snooker their opponent; tucking up is seen as unsporting, so being forced to play harder shots is quite welcomed. There are several sets of rules which use a combination of many others in an attempt to find a balance between WPA rules, which are seen as more aggressive, and WEPF rules which are often referred to, pejoratively, as "chess" because of the amount of play