PENALTY AREAS:
A lot of new penalty areas emerged after the Golf Ontario qualifier was here a couple of weeks ago. The interns marking the course admittedly wanted to speed up play and therefore marked EVERYTHING RED - even some of our out-of-bounds areas.
Most have been restored - the red paint has been washed away. The areas should be played as they have been previously. The creek now has YELLOW stakes at the bridges and a few other spots along the creek.
A few details about #8 - Right and left of the tee are marked RED. The creek crossing is YELLOW. The pond is RED. Remember that for BOTH red and yellow, you can go back on line as far as you want, keeping the point of entry between you and the flag. However, for red, you also get a 2-club length option. If you enter the pond bouncing in from the right side, your spot to drop can be a 2-club length area near your point of entry (no closer to the hole), without having to cross the pond. If you cross the pond, but you are virtually certain the ball has bounced back in from the green-side bank, you can take a 2-club length relief (no closer to the hole) from here as well. If the ball enters the pond from the tee on the fly, you must keep the point of entry between you and the flag, somewhere between the creek and the pond.
A side note: There are no markings left of the #8 green - therefore, if you hit it there, it is more than likely a lost ball. Before leaving the tee would be an excellent time to hit a PROVISIONAL BALL, because if you don't find the original ball you must hit again from the tee.
The diagrams below may help you with red and yellow markings:
