You Make The Call
A golfer tries to hit a shot over a water hazard marked with yellow stakes. The ball lands on the opposite side, appears to come to a stop, but then trickles down a slope and into the water. Where should the golfer take a drop?
A. On the far side because the ball successfully cleared the water before it rolled back in.
B. On the near side because the shot did not successfully finish on the other side.
(answer is below)

Joe,
Why is it OK to play a provisional ball if you are not sure a ball went out of bounds, but it is not OK to play a provisional if it is a water hazard instead of OB?
Mike

Hi Mike,
The penalty for OB is stroke and distance, so if the ball were OB and you did not hit a provisional, you would have to march back to the tee and play again. The penalty for a water hazard is not stroke and distance, so you can drop near the spot where it entered the water, which eliminates the need to march back to the tee, therefore no need for a provisional.
Joe

Answer to You Make The Call (above): B is correct because you cannot drop closer to the hole from where the ball entered the water.

Jody, my Evil Twin, any comments on that?
Answer: That means if you cannot see whether or not the ball rolled back into the water due to tall grass, and you cannot hit a provisional for water hazards, you have to march all the way around the pond to find out, and if the ball is not there, you have to assume it went into the water, so you have to march all the way back around the pond and play the ball on the other side because you were not allowed to hit a provisional ball for a water hazard because if you did, that ball immediately becomes the ball in play, even if you do happen to find the first ball on the other side. That hinders pace of play and therefore that is a bad rule.