Dropping your ball after hitting in the water

We all know that there are two kinds of water hazards, right? A "regular" water hazard (referred to as a "water hazard" in the rules of golf, is marked by YELLOW stakes and/or a line. A lateral water hazard is marked by RED stakes and and/or a line. The rules for dropping your ball after hitting in either type of water hazard share some options and have some options that are unique. The key element in determining your drop location is determining where the ball LAST crossed the hazard. I am including the link to a terrific video on USGA.com that tells you exactly how to execute the proper drop for your situation. WATCH THE VIDEO, IT COULD CHANGE YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR OPTIONS.

And for bonus points, does anyone know how your options change if you decide to hit a ball from inside a hazard and it remains in or returns to the hazard? I'll cover that in another post.

Here is the link to the video on usga.com. You can click the link or cut and paste it in any browser.