Arguably the most-debated rule in golf involves whether a player deserves free relief from a divot hole in the fairway. Those in favour of that point out that a golfer shouldn’t be penalised for hitting a good shot. Those against fall back on the game’s “Play it as it lies” mantra.
Up to this point, the latter group has won. But we’d be interested to hear Ryan Palmer’s vote on the matter after what happened to him today.
RELATED: In a deep hole
Playing in the opening round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, the four-time PGA Tour winner striped a drive down the middle on Port Royal Golf Club’s par-4 12th hole only to discover his golf ball had settled into a divot hole. And when we say settled, we mean this thing really sat down and got comfortable in one.
Paul Hodowanic of PGATour.com snapped these screenshots of this all-time nasty break:
One of the more gnarly divots I've seen a ball find on the PGA TOUR. Yeesh. pic.twitter.com/E8mVarVJmm
— Paul Hodowanic (@PaulHodowanic) November 13, 2025
Ooof, that’s rough. He almost needed a shovel to dig down to hit that. Usually, you at least have some room around the perimeter to work with (read Greg Norman’s tips for hitting out of a divot hole here), but that is almost a perfect golf-ball-sized hole. And a deep one at that.
Not surprisingly, Palmer missed the green with his approach shot. However, he was able to get up and down and save par. A tip of the cap to you, Ryan. Way to battle.
RELATED: It’s one of the most loathed rules in golf. So why can’t you take free relief from a divot hole?
Still, that’s not the kind of situation you ever want to find yourself in – especially during one of the final two PGA Tour events of the year as players are jockeying to maintain their tour cards for next season.
