Skip to content
    • Tour Homepage
    • PGA Tour
    • LIV Golf
    • DP World Tour
    • LPGA
    • LET
    • The Masters
    • The Open
    • The Players
    • US Open
    • PGA Championship
    • Ryder Cup
    • Solheim Cup
    • WITB
    • Betting
    • News
    • Features
    • Equipment Homepage
    • Reviews
    • Drivers
    • Fairway Woods
    • Hybrids
    • Irons
    • Wedges
    • Putters
    • Golf Balls
    • DMDs
    • Apparel
    • Shoes
    • Trolleys
    • Features
    • News
  • Buying Advice
    • Rules
    • WHS
    • Features
    • News
    • Instruction Homepage
    • Driving Tips
    • Long Game
    • Iron Play
    • Short Game
    • Putting
    • Learn from the pros
    • Course Management
    • Fitness
    • Mental Game
    • Nutrition
  • Giveaways
    • Top 100 Rankings
    • Travel
    • Top 100s Tour
    • Society Guide
    • NCG Golf Podcast
    • NCG Top 100s Podcast
    • Your Golf Podcast by NCG
  • Magazine
    • Why walking is how golf is meant to be played
    • Why walking is the only way to truly appreciate a golf course
    • Is walking in golf just as important as the swing?
    • NCG recommends: Nine US public golf courses you should walk when you are in the country
National Club GolferNational Club Golfer Logo
  • TourHas submenu items

    Tour Homepage

    • PGA Tour
    • LIV Golf
    • DP World Tour
    • LPGA
    • LET
    • The Masters
    • The Open
    • The Players
    • US Open
    • PGA Championship
    • Ryder Cup
    • Solheim Cup
    • WITB
    • Betting
    • News
    • Features
  • EquipmentHas submenu items

    Equipment Homepage

    • Reviews
    • Drivers
    • Fairway Woods
    • Hybrids
    • Irons
    • Wedges
    • Putters
    • Golf Balls
    • DMDs
    • Apparel
    • Shoes
    • Trolleys
    • Features
    • News
  • Buying Advice
  • ClubHas submenu items
    • Rules
    • WHS
    • Features
    • News
  • InstructionHas submenu items

    Instruction Homepage

    • Driving Tips
    • Long Game
    • Iron Play
    • Short Game
    • Putting
    • Learn from the pros
    • Course Management
    • Fitness
    • Mental Game
    • Nutrition
  • Giveaways
  • CoursesHas submenu items
    • Top 100 Rankings
    • Travel
    • Top 100s Tour
    • Society Guide
  • PodcastsHas submenu items
    • NCG Golf Podcast
    • NCG Top 100s Podcast
    • Your Golf Podcast by NCG
  • Magazine
  • The Joy of WalkingHas submenu items
    • Why walking is how golf is meant to be played
    • Why walking is the only way to truly appreciate a golf course
    • Is walking in golf just as important as the swing?
    • NCG recommends: Nine US public golf courses you should walk when you are in the country

Sign up here for our newsletter and you'll never slice a drive again. Promise.

Newsletter sign up

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
National Club Golfer Logo

© 2026 National Club Golfer | 2 Arena Park, Tam Lane, LS17 9BF

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Editorial Policy
  • Meet the NCG Team
  • Privacy
  • Terms & Conditions
Country: gb Page generated at: Wednesday, 8 July 2026 at 3:17:47 British Summer Time
club
Features
Ball in a divot? Stop moaning and get on with it!

published: Oct 11, 2022

|

updated: Dec 5, 2024

Ball in a divot? Stop moaning and get on with it!

Steve CarrollLink

FacebookXInstagramYouTubePodcast0 comments

Nothing triggers some of you like not having a perfect lie from the fairway. This might surprise you, but our club golfer is old school when it comes to divots

thomas pieters

Table of Contents

Jump to:

  • Why is there such a fuss about a golf divot?

Oh, the agony. Let us sit together, weep, and console ourselves at our collective misfortune.

Why? Why God? Why did you do this to me? Am I not a good man? Have I not lived a good life? Why did my ball have to land… in that divot in the fairway? It’s so unfair!

Yes, here it is AGAIN. Listen to yourselves bleating away. Children don’t throw tantrums like this.

But, you blub, I hit a perfect shot. It’s on the short stuff. Why should I be punished? Golf is mean. And the rules suck.

Woe is you. Also, here’s the world’s smallest violin arriving to give you a personal performance.

golf divot

Why is there such a fuss about a golf divot?

It’s like my wife says: “What a palaver about something so small.” Sometimes I hit a great shot and – guess what? – the outcome isn’t what I’d hoped. I find my golf ball in a divot, but I don’t stand there stamping my feet and demanding I get a do-over, or to pick the ball out. It’s play the ball as it lies, not play it as I’d like.

But, but, but…

“It’s too hard playing out of one.” It is if you try and launch fairway woods at it. Accept you’ve had a bad break and take your medicine.

But no divot’s going to push you around, is it? Only you’ll hit the ground around three feet behind it and then have a nervous breakdown.

You all act as if you’ve been struck down by the crater that killed the dinosaurs on every other shot. You’ll be hard pushed to find someone who plays more golf than me and I’ve only found two all year. They both came in the same round.

Advertisement

Get on with it. You can cry foul every time a Rules of Golf review comes around and your precious relief is once again overlooked.

Know this truth: it’s never going to happen. Move on. Maybe you’d prefer us to play off mats all year round instead?

I’m calling a halt. This discussion has been done to death. Let’s never speak of it again. Chance would be a fine thing.

Now have your say

What do you think? Is it time for the governing bodies to cave and hand out free relief for balls in a golf divot on the course, or should we stop the crying and just hit our shot? Let us know on X.

  • NOW READ: Not being allowed to move your ball out of a divot is golf’s stupidest rule
  • NOW READ: My ball has landed on a divot – can I move it?

About the author

Steve Carroll
Steve Carroll

A journalist for more than 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long.

A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A’s prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.

Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men’s Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.

A part of NCG’s Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He’d like to tell you he floats around 10. The reality is more like 13.

Steve plays at Sandburn Hall, in York, and is a country member at Close House in Newcastle. He has served on various club committees during his time in the game, and is the current Rules Secretary at Sandburn.

Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NCTJ exams at Darlington College of Technology. He began his career working on weekly papers in Newcastle, before joining the York Press in 2001. After five years as a news reporter, he joined the sports desk – specialising in horse racing and snooker – and was Digital Sports Editor when he joined National Club Golfer in 2016.

What’s in Steve’s bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; Caley 01T irons 4-PW; TaylorMade Hi-Toe wedges, Odyssey 2Ball Microhinge putter.

Twitter

Comments (0)

Leave a Comment

No comments yet. Be the first to comment!

What's Popular

Stuart Grehan celebrates after winning the Amateur Championship at Royal Liverpool | Source: Getty Images

Should ex-pros be able to compete in amateur tournaments?

By Steve Carroll | Jul 2, 2026

Read full article Should ex-pros be able to compete in amateur tournaments?
The 18th Hole and 9th Hole of Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in the Southampton, N.Y. on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (Copyright USGA/John Mummert)

How much does it cost to play at Shinnecock Hills?

By Matt Chivers | Jun 14, 2026

Read full article How much does it cost to play at Shinnecock Hills?
Blank golf cards on the tournament table | Source: Adobe Stock World Handicap System

Should competition scores be the only ones that count for handicap?

By Steve Carroll | Jun 11, 2026

Read full article Should competition scores be the only ones that count for handicap?
Bryson DeChambeau at LIV Golf Korea | Source: LIV Golf

Show me the money! How much has each LIV player made since signing up?

By Matt Chivers | Jun 10, 2026

Read full article Show me the money! How much has each LIV player made since signing up?
A giant pitch mark on a golf green | Source: NCG

‘We don’t teach people how to play golf anymore’: Do we need to start handing out etiquette lessons at clubs?

By Steve Carroll | Jun 26, 2026

Read full article ‘We don’t teach people how to play golf anymore’: Do we need to start handing out etiquette lessons at clubs?
richest golfers of all time

Who are the richest golfers of all time?

By Matt Chivers | Oct 1, 2025

Read full article Who are the richest golfers of all time?
Martin Kaymer of the LIV Golf Cleeks team | Source: Getty Images

Big DP World Tour events still allow LIV Golfers to compete, but how?

By Matt Chivers | Jun 29, 2026

Read full article Big DP World Tour events still allow LIV Golfers to compete, but how?
SOUTHAMPTON, NY - JUNE 17: Brooks Koepka of the United States celebrates with the U.S. Open Championship trophy after winning the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 17, 2018 in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

What are the US Open cut rules?

By Matt Coles | May 9, 2025

Read full article What are the US Open cut rules?
SOUTHAMPTON, NEW YORK - JUNE 15: Jon Rahm of Spain looks on prior to the 126th 2026 U.S. OPEN at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 15, 2026 in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Stroke penalties are the perfect antidote to the most entitled and poorly behaved brats in professional golf

By Matt Chivers | Jun 25, 2026

Read full article Stroke penalties are the perfect antidote to the most entitled and poorly behaved brats in professional golf

Best Golf Balls for Seniors 2026: Distance and feel for those with slower swing speeds

By Max Mcvittie | Jun 25, 2026

Read full article Best Golf Balls for Seniors 2026: Distance and feel for those with slower swing speeds

Best Budget Irons 2026

By | Jun 18, 2026

Read full article Best Budget Irons 2026
Best Golf Balls 2026 | Source: NCG

Best Golf Balls 2026: The Ultimate Guide for Every Swing Speed and Handicap!

By Max Mcvittie | Jun 23, 2026

Read full article Best Golf Balls 2026: The Ultimate Guide for Every Swing Speed and Handicap!