Is this the worst rule in golf?

[MarathonMike]

Have you ever hit a perfect drive right in the middle of the fairway and find your ball in a divot left by a careless golfer? Why should you be penalized for hitting a good shot where you are supposed to hit it? That is a rule that has always puzzled me, just wanted to know how other golfers feel about that.

 

[Moonglow]

You should be able to refill the divot and play on..

 

[JackOfNoTrades]

Have you ever hit a perfect drive right in the middle of the fairway and find your ball in a divot left by a careless golfer? Why should you be penalized for hitting a good shot where you are supposed to hit it? That is a rule that has always puzzled me, just wanted to know how other golfers feel about that.

It normally doesn't bother me. Just bad luck. Now if it happens on a downhill lie, then I get annoyed. Otherwise, play it forward in your stance, hit down and through. Almost like you're playing it out of hard sand.

Actually, the accidental grounding of the club in a bunker or a waste area rule irritates me more. If the ball moves, fine, you get penalized. If it brushes the sand or impacts the hard dirt of a waste area, so what..as long as the ball doesn't move.

 

[Oddball]

Have you ever hit a perfect drive right in the middle of the fairway and find your ball in a divot left by a careless golfer? Why should you be penalized for hitting a good shot where you are supposed to hit it? That is a rule that has always puzzled me, just wanted to know how other golfers feel about that.

Rub of the green.

 

[Synthaholic]

Unnatural obstructions get a half-club lie/drop, do they not?

 

[Ringel05]

Have you ever hit a perfect drive right in the middle of the fairway and find your ball in a divot left by a careless golfer? Why should you be penalized for hitting a good shot where you are supposed to hit it? That is a rule that has always puzzled me, just wanted to know how other golfers feel about that.

Golf has rules??!!! Now ya tell me.

 

[Synthaholic]

Rule 16 - Relief from Abnormal Course Conditions (Including Immovable Obstructions), Dangerous Animal Condition, Embedded Ball​

https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules/rules-2019/rules-of-golf/rule-16.html

 

[JackOfNoTrades]

Unnatural obstructions get a half-club lie/drop, do they not?

Nope. Not when it comes to a ball landing in a divot in the fairway. It's an unwritten rule that when you make a divot, you repair it.
The rule you are talking about is for an object that cannot be moved. And you've highlighted the important part of the rule. Its OWN pitch mark.
Not one that someone else made.

Years ago, I remember Tiger Woods invoking this rule to move a giant boulder at one of the tourney's out west. Five or six people volunteered to
help move the rock...because while he was entitled to relief, the "impediment" was a huge boulder.

 

[MarathonMike]

It normally doesn't bother me. Just bad luck. Now if it happens on a downhill lie, then I get annoyed. Otherwise, play it forward in your stance, hit down and through. Almost like you're playing it out of hard sand.

I know how to play the shot. The point is, it is a bad rule because you have hit a good shot and you essentially end up in a penalty area in the fairway.

 

[MarathonMike]

Unnatural obstructions get a half-club lie/drop, do they not?

Exactly! So if you end up next to a sprinkler head, you get a drop. You end up in a divot made by another golfer who didn't fix his mess, you are penalized.

 

[JackOfNoTrades]

Unnatural obstructions get a half-club lie/drop, do they not?

Exactly! So if you end up next to a sprinkler head, you get a drop. You end up in a divot made by another golfer who didn't fix his mess, you are penalized.

A divot isn't an unnatural obstruction. Nor is it ground under repair. A sprinkler head is considered an immovable obstruction.
Rule 13. "Play it as it lies".

 

[MarathonMike]

A divot isn't an unnatural obstruction. Nor is it ground under repair. A sprinkler head is considered an immovable obstruction.
Rule 13. "Play it as it lies".

Yes it is a rule. For the third time, the discussion is whether it is a good rule or a bad rule.

 

[justinacolmena]

Rule 16 - Relief from Abnormal Course Conditions (Including Immovable Obstructions), Dangerous Animal Condition, Embedded Ball​

https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules/rules-2019/rules-of-golf/rule-16.html

View attachment 492282

Golf rules are queer Masonic allegories.

27 CFR § 478.144 - Relief from disabilities under the Act.

www.law.cornell.edu

Apply for Relief from Federal Explosives Disabilities | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

A person who is prohibited from shipping, transporting, receiving, or possessing any explosive under 18 U.S.C. 842(i) may apply for relief from federal explosives disabilities in accordance with 18 U.S.C. 845(b). This process can take 120 or more days to complete. To apply for relief from an...

www.atf.gov

Federal Register :: Request Access

 

[Synthaholic]

Unnatural obstructions get a half-club lie/drop, do they not?

Exactly! So if you end up next to a sprinkler head, you get a drop. You end up in a divot made by another golfer who didn't fix his mess, you are penalized.

An unrepaired divot - man-made damage to the course - made by a previous player, who may not even be part of your golf game, would seem to meet the definition of unnatural.