May 19, 2025The Divot

Ground-rule troubleCHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA | Few things get golf traditionalists riled up like a good rules kerfuffle.The rules are the rules and, at least according to those who live by the credo passed down through the decades, there is no bending of the rules, only abiding by them.There are only 25 rules of golf, nearly double the original 13 rules, and enough to lead to literal volumes of literature detailing the various interpretations and applications of said rules.The simple version of golf’s rules is this: Play the ball as it lies.It should actually be, play the ball as it lies unless …Most of us like to think we play by the rules but we don’t. We are guided by the rules but our versions tend to have more stretch to them than yoga pants.The simple version of golf’s rules is this: Play the ball as it lies.When I told a friend once that I’d played golf that day, he asked if I had actually knocked the ball into the hole on all 18 holes. No, I responded, to which he said that I hadn’t really played golf because the point of the game is to get the ball in the hole.Golf loves a true literalist.But playing with a literalist can be a challenge.A rules discussion erupted on Thursday at the PGA Championship when both Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele hit rainbow hooks into the water on Quail Hollow’s par-4 16th hole, blaming both big misses on mudballs.They weren’t wrong but they also weren’t happy that, despite a summer’s worth of rain in the days preceding the championship, officials elected not to allow players to use lift, clean and place rules during the first round.It was the right decision but it came with consequences, specifically to Scheffler and Schauffele, who also understand the concept of the rub of the green, which accounts for all kinds of good and bad things that can happen in a round of golf.It’s right that, with one exception at the 2016 PGA Championship, majors don’t invoke lift, clean and cheat rules. The game is supposed to be hard and occasionally unfair.It’s worth remembering the next time a ball hits a tree and bounces back into the fairway.Ron Green Jr.E-MAIL RONTOP: JAMIE SQUIRE, GETTY IMAGESCoverPicture ThisThe DivotIntl Callaway Elyte Fairway 051925A fix in the midst paves wayIntl Titleist 051925Rahm extracts positives despite dreadful finishIntl Callaway Elyte Driver 051925PGA Gamer‘Baffled’ Bryson bemoans missed chancesTitleist Win Ad 051925McIlroy underwhelms in Masters follow-upIntl Callaway Elyte Irons 051925Picture This 2Pic This 3Intl Callaway Elyte Hybrids 051925Excerpt GGP+R&AIt's Your HonorPING Driver 051925Tour TalkGolf Pride 051925Extra HolesDumbarnie Links 051925Range RatPING Irons 051925Odyssey’s Max 1 models are highest MOI Square 2 Square puttersTrue Linkswear debuts first spike shoes with Lux2 modelsCallaway Apparel 051925Opinions are aplenty for colorful CharleyLPGA 051925StatsMasthead