Quiz answer 6

THE PLAYERS ARE WRONG

"Casual water" is any temporary accumulation of water on the course that is not in a water hazard and is visible before or after the player takes her stance. Taking the "stance" is a player placing her feet in preparation for making a stroke - this does not usually entail putting undue pressure on the ground, jumping up and down or waiting an inordinate amount of time for conditions to change underfoot, which this player appears to have been doing.

So no relief should be taken here as taking the normal stance would not have produced casual water. The player either plays the plugged ball as it lies (embedded balls not on 'closely-mown' areas cannot be lifted unless a temporary local rule allows otherwise), or declared the ball unplayable.

Summary:   Many of the rules of golf rely on the integrity of the player in interpreting them. Doing anything out of the ordinary to create better conditions or indeed to take advantage of the rules is not in keeping with this.