Every month former MGA Senior Director of Rules and Competitions Gene Westmoreland will answer one question posed by the readers of the MGA e-Revision Newsletter (click here to sign up). Ron from White Plains asked Gene the following Rules question:

Q: I hit my approach shot to the green and upon walking up to my ball, which came to rest on the apron, I noticed that a piece of gum was stuck to my ball.  What is the proper procedure for such a sticky situation?

Gene responds:

Gum is artificial and therefore considered a “movable obstruction” given its size and weight. In this case, the player is entitled to lift and clean the ball free of the gum.