Should golfers be allowed to clean mud off their golf balls?

One of the more notable stories from the 2025 PGA Championship came in the first round. There was inclement weather in the early stages of last week at Quail Hollow. The heavy rain forced tournament organizers to work very hard to get the golf course into shape. When the tournament started, there was still some mud in areas on the course.

During the first round, players at times had mud on their balls. The majority of recreational golfers would not think twice about picking up their golf ball and removing the mud. However, on the PGA Tour, there is actually a rule that prevents you from cleaning your ball.

The players did not hesitate to voice their complaints on the muddy ball. Here were some of the reactions:

Scottie Scheffler, the eventual winner, but who began the tournament by shooting two-under-par 69:

“I hit in the middle of the fairway, then you’ve got mud on your ball, and it’s tough to control where it goes after that.”

Xander Schauffele, the world number three:

“I had a ridiculous mud ball there on 16 with Scottie….It’s just unfortunate to be hitting good shots and to pay them off that way. It’s kind of stupid. I’m sure a lot of guys aren’t super happy  with sort of the conditions there.”

Meanwhile, Padriag Harrington, who was in the first group to tee off on Thursday, asked:

“I never even heard the term ‘mud ball’ growing up. Did you guys?”

From a viewer perspective, the muddy golf ball creates some drama and added adversity that players have to deal with. I personally like watching professional golfers try to overcome challenges. In discussing the muddy golf ball during Friday’s broadcast, ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt and Curtis Strange had a muddy golf ball on the desk. Van Pelt stated “it looks more like a chocolate bonbon”. Having to play with muddy golf balls are part of the rules, and it is fine by me that PGA Tour players once win a while are required to play with them.