Unlucky golfer’s ball was so deeply embedded even the rules official couldn’t believe it

It might be the most annoying thing in golf. It’s in the top five, at the very least. You hit a shot that, by all accounts, wasn’t that bad, only to find it embedded deep in the ground.

That happened to one unlucky golfer this week, and even the official giving the ruling couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

It came during the first round of the Molly Murphy Crowley Collegiate Invitational in Portland, Oregon. A golfer from University of California—Davis’ women’s golf team hit an approach shot that embedded itself so deeply in an area near the bunker that it was almost underground entirely.

The rules official, after pointing out where the ball was, took a picture because of how rare a sight it was.

Lots of golf fans were asking what the ruling would be in this situation, and while I’m no rules expert, under rule 25-2, it would appear that because this ball did not embed in a “closely-mown area through the green…fairway height or less,” it’s good old fashioned play it as it lies.

Presumably, she would’ve had to take an unplayable, though. Either that or opt for a shovel.

A rotten piece of luck, but not something you don’t see every day.