Casual water must be identifiable before or after a player has taken his stance. Ground that is merely wet, spongy, mushy or muddy is not casual water. There must be an accumulation of water above ground that is visible. (If a player takes his stance where water is not visible, but doing so causes water to push up onto the surface where it is now visible, that does qualify as casual water.)
Dew and frost are not casual water; snow and natural ice can be casual water or loose impediments, at the player's discretion; manufactured ice is an obstruction.
Under the rules of golf, casual water is considered an abnormal ground condition. If a golfer determines his golf ball rests in casual water, or that casual water interferes with his stance, he is entitled to relief. Rule 25 covers relief from casual water.
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"My ball is in some casual water so I'm going to take relief under Rule 25."
