‘Perfectly legal’: Major champ’s clever use of new rule leads to watery birdie

Sometimes golf rules are so deeply ingrained in our minds, we can’t shake them even after the rules are changed. A lot of golf fans may have been experienced that feeling this past Sunday, when Wyndham Clark was swinging away in a water hazard.

You may have forgotten that the rules governing grounding clubs in hazards changed a few years back, but the 2023 U.S. Open champion certainly did not. He used the new rule to its full extent to help make an otherworldly up-and-down birdie from a water hazard at the Hero World Challenge.

Here’s what you need to know.

Wyndham Clark’s watery practice swings raise eyebrows, end in birdie

When he began Sunday’s final round at the 2025 Hero World Challenge, Clark was only three shots off Scottie Scheffler’s 54-hole lead. After a forgettable season on the course, Clark was hoping to end his year with a bang.

When he put together an up-and-down for the ages for birdie on the 9th hole, it looked like he might just pull off his first win since early 2024.

The 9th hole at Albany GC is a par-5 with a long, narrow lake running along the entire right side of the hole. Clark safely found the middle of the fairway with his drive, but he was not as fortunate with his approach.

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From 310 yards out, Clark hit a 249-yard shot that tailed right and ended up submerged in water at the edge of the lake, well inside the red stakes marking the penalty area.

Instead of taking a drop and swallowing the penalty stroke that would have come with it, Clark decided to hack his ball out of the water and try to reach the green some 60 yards away.

But before he did, Clark stepped away from his ball, moved back to a nearby watery area and took several practice swings, with his club splashing through the water on each one.

The sight of Clark hacking away at the water within the red stakes may have felt wrong to golfers with a less-thorough knowledge of the rules than the three-time PGA Tour winner. But he was well within the rules, as the TV broadcast noted.

“That is perfectly legal. That is new. You are allowed to do this.”

Then came the magic. Following his practice swings, Clark somehow made great contact on his real swing, sending his ball out of the water and soaring on a high trajectory. His ball crashed down on the green, settling 25 feet away.

And you know what happened next. Clark drained the 25-footer for an incredible birdie-4.

Rule change for grounding clubs in penalty areas saves Clark

But back to Clark’s watery practice swings.

For ages, ponds, lakes and streams marked with red stakes were commonly known as “water hazards.” Back then, most golfers knew they were not allowed to ground their club anywhere within the red-staked area. That, of course, included practice swings that made contact with the ground within the hazards. There was a similar rule regarding bunkers.

Had the old rules been in place, Clark would not have been allowed to take full practice swings splashing his club into the water as he did at the 9th hole on Sunday. He wouldn’t even have been permitted to touch the surface of the water with his club, nor any grassy areas within the stakes.

Fortunately for Clark, that rule has changed.

In 2019, the USGA and R&A overhauled many golf rules in the interest of simplicity. The rule governing grounding clubs in hazards was among them. First, the governing bodies announced that they would no longer use the term “water hazard” to describe red-staked areas on the course, instead referring to them generally as “penalty areas.”

Under new Rule 17, “there are no longer any special restrictions when a ball is in a ‘penalty area.'” Furthermore, the new rule states that “a player is allowed to touch or move loose impediments and touch the ground with hand or club (such as grounding the club right behind the ball) for any reason, subject only to the prohibition on improving conditions for the stroke.”

Knowing this rule change, Clark chose to take a few practice swings in the water, giving him crucial information about how his club would react during his real shot. And his clever use of the new rule paid off with a memorable birdie.

Unfortunately, Clark was unable to turn that big moment into a drought-ending win. A double bogey at the par-4 13th dropped him out of the running, and he eventually settled for a T8-finish, seven shots behind winner Hideki Matsuyama.