Should you be able to get relief from divots in the fairway?

[clubchamp98]

It can be a very cruel rule.
My daughter [then aged 14 or 15] was playing in the last eight of the SW Women's championship.
She was dormie 4 down 4 the previous years British Champion.
She parred 15, birdied 16, and parred 17 for wins then split the fairway with a great drive on 18 to find her ball in a deep divot that had obviously been removed by a crow/bird [upturned divot was lying next to it.]
She could not make the green from there and lost to a par.

That’s very unlucky and unfair imo.
And like me that will influence her and your opinion on it .
If you don’t hit many fairways it’s not a problem.
But in my experience it always happens in a very important game.
Or seems like it.

 

[Curls]

Do you get a bad lie in snooker? The table is immaculate, if there is dust on it it gets cleaned. (if the post was made tongue in cheek then I apologise for being slow)

I'm torn on this but on the basis that too many would take advantage I have gone no.

Tongue firmly in cheek chap in relation to previous thread about snooker being more difficult ?

 

[clubchamp98]

No. Too subjective and liable to give rise to contentious actions/decisions and bad feeling between players. And that's not the nature of our game even when playing in a highly competitive context.

It's just rub of the green - one of these things. There are plenty such 'things' we encounter during a round, and plenty of times the rules help us out of a scrape...sometimes literally. And over the piece, good and bad breaks even out.

An old fella once told me as I moaned over the unfairness of something that could easy have been my ball in a divot hole - golf was never meant to be fair. Well I'm not sure of that but I get what he was on about. Bottom line in the game is that you play the ball as you find it.

That’s not true anymore though.
Ask Reed or Mcilroy there are loads of exceptions to play as it lies.
A plugged ball is just in its own little divot , what’s the difference?

 

[Deleted member 18588]

Play the ball as it lies.

Alternatively lift and drop with one stroke added.

What next?

" I hit the fairway but got a bare lie! I should be allowed to place the ball on a perfect lie."

 

[patricks148]

Just from those that point at 45 degrees to the target

theres a guy at Nairn with a terrible slice, his divots and big ones at that point 45 deg left, we were playing behind him in a comp last year and my mate landed in his divot on the 9th, no chance of him getting anywhere near the ball the divot was at least 3 inches deep, he could only chip out sideways on the line of the divot. We had been told not to replace divots the day before as from now on the club were just going to fill on a daily basis... it was aSat so no GK working

 

[ScienceBoy]

Golf should be in essence “play the ball as it lies” and the rules we have should deal with things that prevent that.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

On the fairway yes.
You should be entitled to a fairway lie if your drive is on it.
I have snapped a shaft in the Club Champs playing from a divot.
It can hurt and is quite dangerous.
A seeded divot should be GUR as the greenkeeper has taken time to fill it but when you play your shot there’s nothing to put back.
This is a problem at short par 4s or dog legs where everyone lays up.

I do understand the cheating issue but imo that is a different issue.
If the turf is missing it’s a divot.
If there’s grass under the ball it’s not a divot it’s a depression.

How many times has it really happened to that level though ?

And if you know it’s an a level of divot that’s going to cause potential damage then it’s time to be sensible and take an unplayable

And how much turf needs to be missing for it to be called a divot ?

It’s very much subjective and it’s down to the rub of the green even if you hit the fairwayb

 

[Jimaroid]

Actually I've changed my mind. We should just play off mats all year round as it's the only way to get a consistent lie every time.

 

[clubchamp98]

How many times has it really happened to that level though ?

And if you know it’s an a level of divot that’s going to cause potential damage then it’s time to be sensible and take an unplayable

And how much turf needs to be missing for it to be called a divot ?

It’s very much subjective and it’s down to the rub of the green even if you hit the fairwayb

Yes it’s is subjective.
So a ball in a divot no grass is a divot ,any grass under it it’s a depression.
The play it as it lies has so many exceptions now it’s not really relevant anymore.

A ball in its own mark is just a ball in its own divot but as Reed And Rory found you get relief .
What’s the difference one is made by your ball one is made by someone else?
Should it be played as it lies?

 

[jim8flog]

A question that crops ever year or so.

I am firmly in the no camp. There would be too many arguments over what is a divot hole.

I play with one guy who would probably query every single lie.

Ps we do get relief from divots, they are loose impediments.

 

[azazel]

If you're entitled to a "fairway lie" for hitting the fairway, does that mean that if you hit it into the cabbage and find a good lie you should have to bury it a bit so that you've got a "rough lie"?

It's a no from me for free relief from fairway divots.

 

[KenL]

No ... as there can be no definitive description of what exactly is a divot and those that want to take unfair advantage will do so.

This is the reason I said no.
Also, can you imagine how much it would slow up play?

 

[Imurg]

So a ball in a divot no grass is a divot ,any grass under it it’s a depression.

Obviously going extreme here but..
An apparent divot, 1-2 inches deep.
Someone has replaced some grass but not trodden around it to smooth the edges.
Ball is sitting down in the "divot" but there's grass, a blade or 2, under the ball....
What now.?

Thats the scenario you're going to get.
Some will look and say it's a divot, some will say it's a depression.....
Who's right?
In your scenario, 1 blade of grass under the ball renders the divot a depression...
There's a reason the R&A haven't defined a divot that you can get relief from.

 

[KenL]

theres a guy at Nairn with a terrible slice, his divots and big ones at that point 45 deg left, we were playing behind him in a comp last year and my mate landed in his divot on the 9th, no chance of him getting anywhere near the ball the divot was at least 3 inches deep, he could only chip out sideways on the line of the divot. We had been told not to replace divots the day before as from now on the club were just going to fill on a daily basis... it was aSat so no GK working

Ridiculous. You clearly have too many GKs.

 

[Deleted member 18588]

Yes it’s is subjective.
So a ball in a divot no grass is a divot ,any grass under it it’s a depression.
The play it as it lies has so many exceptions now it’s not really relevant anymore.

A ball in its own mark is just a ball in its own divot but as Reed And Rory found you get relief .
What’s the difference one is made by your ball one is made by someone else?
Should it be played as it lies?

Yes.

In my view we should all, amateurs and pro's alike, play it as it lies.

 

[Neilds]

Doesn’t affect me, I never hit it where people have been before so never have to worry about divots?
Another thing to consider is whether you get relief from the hole, the turf or both (or neither)?

 

[Crow]

No.

 

[patricks148]

Ridiculous. You clearly have too many GKs.

not on a saturday we don't

 

[mister v]

I voted yes, without really thinking about it....... and now having read the thread i've changed my mind. in fairness i've only really rolled into a few diviots and for half the season at our course its pick and place due to the wet conditions
I do think that if you hit a fairway you should be rewarded with a good lie, but thats life

 

[Orikoru]

Yes - Reed can get relief pretending the ball is plugged in deep rough, yet you hit a perfect drive up the fairway land in a massive divot and get nothing? That seems backward to me.