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). Gene recently received the following Rules question from a reader:

 

Q: If a ball lands on a replaced, but upside-down, divot is relief given because it's considered ground under repair?

 

 

Gene responds:

Decision 13-2/7 says, "When substantially all of it (a divot), with roots downward, lies in a divot hole (the divot is considered to have been replaced).

 

A divot that has not been replaced is considered a "loose impediment".

 

So, if a ball lands on an upside down divot (whether the divot is in a divot hole or not), the divot would be considered a loose impediment – not ground under repair. "Through the green" (which includes balls in the fairway) loose impediments may be moved without penalty – as long as you do not cause the ball to move. In the description you provide where a ball is sitting on top of a loose impediment (divot), the impediment could not be moved without moving the ball, so the player would have to play the ball as it lies or declare it unplayable (one-stroke penalty).

 

This should serve as a reminder to all golfers to take the time to leave the course in good condition after every stroke by properly replacing divots, properly raking bunkers and properly fixing ball marks.

 

 

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