It’s time to bury ‘the divot rule’ once and for all.
This column likes to keep abreast of trends and movements within the game, especially at club level where most of you – and all of us – reside. It might be new handicap-calculation methods, tee-marker use or side-match formats – this game changes more than many of us realise, even if only in small ways.
One trend I’ve noticed reaching its zenith lately is what can only be termed ‘the divot rule’, which is an odd word to apply to it because there is no such rule. And that is the source of the growing angst.
You’ve probably figured out where this is going. We’re talking about golf balls rolling into the hole left by a divot or into a sand-filled divot hole. It’s the highest frustration on most golfers’ list of grievances. It’s viewed as unfair and elicits reactions like, “Why should you be penalised for someone else’s carelessness or poor attempt at divot repair?”
Trust us, we’ve heard them all. Any time a question or situation arises on our social-media channels pertaining to golf’s rules, someone will inevitably chime in about the divot rule (or lack thereof). Sometimes, we even fuel the fire a little by asking which rule golfers would like to see changed. It might be only once or twice a year that we pose the question, but the divot rule (again, or lack thereof) is always the top response.
More and more golfers want free relief from these craters. They want to be freed from the unfairness of it all. Well, we’ve got news for these golfers:
It.
Won’t.
Happen.
Golf’s ruling bodies – the United States Golf Association in the US and Mexico and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews everywhere else – rarely reveal a lot when discussing potential rule changes, but they have publicly said that offering free relief from divots ‘is not golf’ and is not a rule change we can expect to see, ever. For two bodies known for dawdling, it ranks among their most decisive statements.
There are numerous reasons why a divot rule won’t ever be implemented. Top of the list is this: the very tenet of the game is to play the ball as it lies. We want golfers touching their golf balls less often, not more. Secondly, when is a divot hole no longer a divot hole? In other words, at what point during the repair process do we consider the damaged turf to be recovered? It’s too grey an area to police accurately. Next up, what is genuinely a divot hole and what is merely a small depression or irregularity in the fairway? I don’t know about you, but I don’t want someone else deciding this.
Then there’s the fairness component, which is an even more paper-thin argument. Mike Clayton puts it best whenever the subject arises on Twitter, with words to the effect of: so you think it’s unfair that your ball finished in a divot hole? OK, next time your ball is slicing wildly into the woods but hits a branch and ricochets back into the fairway, go and throw your ball into the trees because that’s where it was meant to finish. In other words again, the breaks in golf – good and bad – even out in the end.
Another response I often have for golfers who are pro-divot relief is: how often does it actually happen? A few times a year, perhaps? And in most instances the best way to conquer the unwanted hindrance is through attitude. I’m always reminded of Tom Watson, who famously turned to his caddie, Bruce Edwards, after finding his ball in a sand-filled divot one time and said, “Watch this!” He embraced the challenge, adjusted his setup and strike accordingly, then moved on.
Still not satisfied? Still holding a grudge against a lack of fairway justice? Remember this next time your ball rolls into a divot hole, as there’s one more option no one ever talks about: you can always declare it an unplayable lie. Suddenly, putting the ball back in your stance a shade and coming into impact a touch steeper to help catch the ball first doesn’t seem so hard, does it?
